Entry 5: The Visitors

-Felkala-

All of that was gone – banished away! – when I heard a loud crash coming from the great hall. I crawled towards the stairs where the booming sound was coming from when suddenly, a portion of the wall parted, and light shone through, striking me blind. I shrieked and wailed, but the light did not go away. I didn't fully understand that my eyes were meant for seeing, so I didn't think to cover them (not that it would have helped).

For the first time, I ran on my two feet – so frightened I was. I had lost my bearings when I fell backward, so I ran straight into a wall. I fell on the ground feeling dizzy, and I hastily crawled along the wall until I felt another archway. I darted inside to escape the burning light, and once I felt momentarily safe from the brightness, I huddled in the darkest corner and cried. This was the greatest pain I had ever experienced, and I was scared by the sudden change in my environment.

After my mind caught up to the situation, I was able to focus enough to listen. I heard alien voice noises and echoing footsteps pacing through the halls. I could tell that they were going to and fro amidst my stone walls. Finally, the voice noises came into my room, and a bright light accompanied them. This light was less brilliant, and it was more orange than yellow. However, it still brought tears to my eyes.

The noises were right in front of me now, and I was cornered. There was nothing between me and them, and I was wishing that I was in the shelved room so that I could at least hide behind something.

Despite there being light, I couldn't see anything, so despite the chaotic footsteps around me, I knew nothing about what was going on. This lack of knowledge scared me at a fundamental level, and my existence felt threatened.

One of the strange, looming voices came closer to me, and I felt something grab my arm.

My piercing screams filled my stone world as I lashed out in fear – scratching and hitting whatever touched my arm. With every hit, I felt a cracking sound, and the shape in front of me screamed incomprehensibly.

The thing that touched me let go of me and retreated hastily and made loud, urgent sounds to the other things that entered my world. I heard the footsteps going away, but much more urgently than they came in.

One of them had dropped the source of the baleful glow when it retreated. I wanted to flee to another room to get away from the painful glow, but when I tried to crawl, I felt a warm liquid on the ground that was hot and smelled metallic. It freaked me out, and I was left cowering and crying in a corner as the glow slowly dimmed.

As I was sobbing and shivering out of fear, I felt my mind slowing down, my eyelids inching shut of their own accord, and my consciousness slowly sinking into darkness. It was an unknown feeling, but I was too sluggish to give it any thought. Soon, my mind fell into an unconscious slumber where the painful glow no longer hurt me.

___________________

-Rai-

Pam and Rai staggered down an unbeaten path with no destination. Their overused straw sandals left their feet defenseless to the rough terrain, and their empty stomachs left them no energy to speak with each other.

The path they were taking was leading away from their home tribe. Despite the journey's hardships, it was better than returning to the tribe, with the tribe being on the verge of collapse with the invaders on all sides.

When the blazing summer sun reached its zenith, Pam was panting heavily. When Rai saw that Pam was having difficulties, he immediately stopped and said to her, "It's been hard on you. We should take a rest."

Pam stubbornly slapped his hand away and said, "You don't need to mind me. We need reach the mountains before dark. I don't want to hold you back."

"Hmph," Rai snorted playfully, "I'm not saying I'm concerned about you. I know you're tough. I just don't want our baby to have a hard time."

"Rai," Pam said dejectedly, "You don't need to feel guilty for what happened to our other children. Yes, you weren't there when they died, but you're one of our only shamans in the tribe. We needed your powers to fight against the other tribes."

Rai can't help but still feel guilty about how he was gone at war while his other children were being murdered by the invading tribe. The fact that he couldn't be there to personally protect them still haunts his nightmares.

"I'll be there for THIS child," he says assertively, "so be a good woman and sit down." After Rai finally got his wife to sit down in the shadow of a large rock, he spent a moment looking at her exhausted face and grieving heart.

Whatever he thought about made him bare his teeth in anger. "None of this would've happened if it weren't for that vision we shamans all had in the Dream world 10 years ago."

Pam sluggishly turned her head towards Rai and asked, "Why?"

Rai shrugged, "Before she died, Master Kava said that she saw the pointed eared one throw a glowing white crystal into our world."

"Oh," Pam muttered, "so it's like those Essence Crystal's you always made in the forge?"

Rai nodded, "Yes… but since it was white, it would have to be unbelievably dense in power, and it couldn't have any impurities. A white crystal that large could easily give a shaman the resources he needed to cultivate his powers to enter the Divine realm and become a god himself."

Pam looked down sadly, "That's probably why the Palls tribe invaded. I remember them specifically taking our Essence Crystal reserves. They also tried to enslave you to force you to make more Essence Crystals for them."

Pam had come from a family accustomed to wielding authority; how else could she marry a high status shaman? Being a chieftain's daughter, she knew how power struggles work.

With everyone going mad looking for the rumored White Essence Crystal, the power balance between the nations and tribes would change drastically once it was found. Everyone else had to stock up on Essence as much as they could to offset the disadvantages. Weak tribes like theirs would be the first to get swept under the rug.

Furrowing her eyebrows, Pam pointed off into the distance, "Do you see that? Can you check for me?"

Nodding, Rai stood up and walked about 10 meters away and looked down with a puzzled look on his face. "I see a crack in the ground over there," Rai said as he pointed to an inconspicuous, hole in the ground that was incongruent with the surroundings. "Perhaps it's big enough to fit the both of us. It's no doubt cooler down there than it is behind that rock."

It also smelled damp down there, so Shaman Rai figured there must be water down below. He didn't mention that aloud, since he didn't want to bring his wife's hopes up and leave her disappointed, in case he didn't find anything.

Rai looked over into the large crack in the earth to make sure it was safe, when he noticed that the hole was much darker than he would've thought. "Pam," Rai said in concern, "The crack's deeper than I thought, and I can't see the bottom. Do you want me to still go down?" Pam always had a fear of tight spaces, so he had to ask.

Pam fished out some rope from her bag and handed it to Rai. "Take this. I'll tie it around some stones so you don't fall.

"I'll take that as a yes then," Rai said as he took the other end of the rope. In no time, he shimmied his way down the hole, which was a fortunately shallower than he thought.

His feet touched the ground, and he realized that he was standing in a tunnel that went further into the mountain. Looking at the rubble just below the hole, he guessed that hole existed because a cave-in happened in a portion of the tunnel.

After ascertaining that the tunnel was safe, Rai held up his hand and muttered a short spell. He looked up at the wall and started making digging motions in the air. As he moved his hands, small footholds carved themselves into the wall, as if he were directing an invisible shovel.

As soon as it was safe for Pam, Rai helped her climb down slowly. To prevent any slip ups, he held her by the waist during her descent.

Once they were both down there, they could finally rest. Rai took out the rest of the water and gave it to Pam. "You should drink," he said.

Blushing shyly, Pam tried to refuse it. "You shouldn't bother so much about me. Shamans like you live a long time. By the time I'm an old sack of bones, you'll still be somewhat young. You can just take another wife and have more children. Your life is more valuable. You could be the elder of a new tribe… if you wanted."

A little vexed by Pam's degrading words, Rai said, "Since I'm so important, I can decide how to spend our water. I say you drink all of it. It won't be a big deal, though. This tunnel is damp, so I'm sure there's an underground water source somewhere."

Sure enough, they discovered an underground spring on one end of the tunnel later that day. Thus, they spent the next several days recuperating with cool shade and ample water.

Soon enough, they had enough spare energy to become curious about their new nest, and they began to explore the tunnel they were in.

One end of the tunnel ended in an underground spring, as they already knew, and it seemed fairly normal. The other end, however… It was strange, and they were gripped by curiosity the further down they went.

At first, the ground was soft dirt and clay, then the tunnel widened out a little and became smooth, with stone tiles to lay the ground and walls. "Who would have the time to cut and lay the stones out like this, when our people barely have enough time to feed ourselves?" Pam questioned vaguely. "They must care about it a lot."

"Not necessarily," Rai said. "Some shamans know techniques to shape stone with their words, though the knowledge isn't widespread." After all, people tend to keep the good and useful things to themselves.

Soon, they reached the end of the tunnel, which was blocked by a large pair of double doors with a bar over the front. "What's this?" Rai said with excitement when he noticed what was on the door. It was strange, runic letters:

"I don't know, Ria," Pam said helplessly, "I don't recognize these letters. Do you? Why do you sound so happy?"

"This language is called soul script. It's the language a shaman's True Names are spoken with. It's also popular to use in enchantments."

Curious now, Pam asked, "Can you read the door for me?"

"Drakavar Dradazewa-Yiirwyn Felkala, " Rai replied. "My best guess would be that it means "Fortress of Silence… Or maybe Hidden Vault?"

"… You don't sound sure of yourself, Rai?" Pam pointed out with a twisted look on her face, as if she were trying not to laugh. He's usually so serious, and it's refreshing to see him fumble through his words.

Rai scratched his head and looked down and tried his best to explain himself. "It's a little complicated, so I'll spare you the details. Basically, there are many different ways to read a single word when reading Soul Script. It's very a subjective language; perhaps only the author knows what the true meaning is… though others can occasionally guess it."

"…eh?" With the look on Pam's face… she didn't understand.

Sighing, Rai said, "It's a language that speaks in only metaphors and analogies. You can't say something simple like, 'the sky is blue'. There isn't even a word for sky. Rather, it might sound something like, 'the breathe of the world which looks like the great waters.' It's all poetry, really."

"Is that why shamans like to write their enchantments with these letters?" Pam asked. "Because the enchanter knows the meaning, but others can't copy his work?"

Rai shuffled Pam's hair. "You're a smart girl. You would've made a good shaman, if you had learned your True Names like me." Rai then stroked his hands over the etched letters on the stone door. "I've seen enchantments like this. We likely have to know the meaning of the words in order to get to the other side of the door."

"Can you teach me to read it, dear husband? Maybe I can help you try to guess what the word means?"

"Haha, why not," Rai laughed. Gesturing to the wall, Rai began to explain, "This on the wall has 9 characters – the first word with 6 characters, and the second with 3:

Dra – the ability to make or prevent change

Ka – Absolute, infinite and unending, unrivaled

Var – External, dynamic, Unstable

Dra - the ability to make or prevent change

Da – against, or in opposition of

Ze – Finity, or Endings

W' – Of

Yiir – Place or time

Wyn – Permanent, unchanging, stable

Fel – Transformation, change in form, Interaction, Exchange

Ka – Absolute, infinite, and unending, unrivaled

La – Without, in the absence of, not

"I think," Rai concluded, "that Dradazewa means safety because it's 'the ability to prevent endings'. Yir-Wyn means 'house', or 'permanent place'. Hence, I think the first word means 'House of safety', 'Sanctuary', or 'Vault'. It could be 'Castle' too, because of 'Drakavar' before it, since that word most commonly means 'unmatched power'. Yes, 'the house of safety with unmatched power'."

Rai continued, "What I don't really get is 'Felkala.' It literally means 'Absolutely without interaction or change.' Does this mean that nobody's supposed to go in? It could also mean 'Silence', since Fel is commonly used to describe words and ideas. If one is without words, then that is Silence."

"Now tell me, dear wife," Rai said, "how would YOU interpret that?

-After several hours of injuring their own brains-

Unhealthy curiosity is a natural characteristic of long lived beings, like Shaman Rai. Naturally, Pam would be the similar to him, as they were attracted to each other from the start. Hence, they momentarily forgot the troubles waiting for them in the outside world, and they enjoyed talking to each other and trying to puzzle out the enchantment on the door.

In the end, they completed the puzzle purely by luck. Pam had said, "Can't Felkala and Drakavar just be people's names? Maybe this is a house supposed to keep somebody named Felkala safe from a person named Drakavar?"

To hers and his surprise, the Soul Script on the walls started glowing an eerie grey, and loud cracks were heard in the earth. The cracks of the door widened. The double doors opened to reveal a petrified Pam with her mouth wide open, and a shivering Rai with his arms around his woman.

"…"

"…"

The couple were silent for a good minute or so. Was the answer really so simple? Pam really guessed it before Rai, the renowned shaman and scholar?

Pam looked at Rai and said, "We spent so much effort to open a stupid door. Should we take a look?"

"Let's be careful," Ria said to Pam as he took out the torch he carried with him.

"I thought somebody would be in here, given the title on the door!" Pam nervously pointed out.

Rai agreed with Pam. This place was dark, empty, and it looked like nobody was here. Rai started to get a little creeped out. Is there a ghost haunting this place?

After a few moments, Rai succeeded in lighting up his torch by snapping his fingers and using his magic to amplify the heat he generated. He then held up the torch in front of his face to take a better look at the place.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" BAM!!! As soon as the torch lit up, the couple heard a piercing scream, then the sound of somebody smacking against a wall. Whoever was here quickly fled from them somewhere deeper into the dark underbelly of the mountain.

"PAM!" Rai yelped out and he attempted to pull his wife back, "Did you hear that!"

"… Hear what? Of COURSE I heard, you ninny!" Pam retorted sarcastically.

"I heard a skittering sound. Someone's in here with us! Be careful!" Rai cautioned.

"I think whoever let off that scream needs help," Pam softly said. "That scream sounded like they were in pain!"

They slowly went towards the direction that the skittering sound had fled to. As they got closer to one of the side rooms, they heard a soft and pitiful whimpering sound.

"This sounds like a child!" Pam exclaimed as she stepped forward urgently, "It sounds like it needs help!" She took the torch and went ahead. They got closer to the source of the sound, and they found a pale, naked little girl curled up in a corner, softly crying to herself.

"What kind of monster would leave a child all alone down here!?" Pam's growl was so aggressive that Rai could swear she wanted to murder someone right then and there.

Rather than getting emotional, Rai calmly analyzed the situation. He took one look at the girl and frowned.

"Why would a child be locked up in here? The enchantment was called, 'Felkala's Sanctuary,' so what is she being kept safe from? This place is hidden away. Does somebody want no one to find the child? Being alone like this can't be good for the kid." Rai had these thoughts on his mind.

Ria's second thought on seeing the child was that she might not be human. This thought was understandable, for as far as he knew, humans either have brown or black skin. He had never seen a person with skin so pale that it glows under the torchlight. Frankly, he thought she was a little eerie looking.

Pam seemed to have none of Rai's reservations about the child's skin color, though. Perhaps it was because she had already lost children of her own, but upon seeing what appeared to be a 2 or 3 year-old girl curled up and crying, her heart felt like it was bleeding.

Ever so slowly, Pam got down low to the ground so that she wouldn't tower over the child and intimidate her. She then slowly inched forward, as one would approach a flighty animal. "Where are your parents, little girl? Where do you hurt?" Pam said sweetly as she bent forward to check for injuries.

When she reached forward to try and help the child up, the child started screaming out loud without warning as she kicked and fought with all her might.

The strange child grabbed Pam's wrists with her delicate little fingers and squeezed with brutish strength uncharacteristic of a child. Pam yelled out in pain and pried the fingers off her wrists with great effort.

Rai ran forward to pull his wife away from the little monster child, but not before she had gotten in a few hits. Every kick felt like being pummeled with a metal rod, and every scratch was like being sliced by a knife, with how hard and sharp the child's nails were. By the time Pam was pulled away, she was bruised and bleeding everywhere.

Rai yelled out in fear, "This place is cursed! Let's get out of here!"

They turned and fled from the sounds of the monster child screaming.

Even though Pam was bruised and bleeding, and her baby's fate was uncertain, it felt like the monster child was the one who had been wronged, with her miserable wails growing fainter and fainter as the couple fled the Sanctuary.