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More glimpses from the world of Domhan…..

Agean’s eyes flew open wide and he sat bolt upright on the blanket where he been peacefully sleeping. He jumped out of bed and scurried over the floor toward the room where Mama Ella and Saol slept; but he crashed into someone midway there, both of them falling to the floor with a thud and cries of fright. Agean grabbed Saol by the shoulders and held onto her tightly.

“Did you hear that?” he hissed into her ear, fearful of waking Ella. He felt Saol nod. “Did you feel the ground shake?” She nodded again. His eyes were adjusting to the faint light in the room and he could make out the features of Saol’s face, her forehead scrunched in terror. He longed to ease her fear but his own heart pounded so loudly he thought surely she could hear it. They both breathed heavily as they sat, clinging to one another on the bare floor. Had Mama Ella heard it too?

“Should we wake Mama Ella?” Saol asked, wanting nothing more than for her mother to hold her and tell her everything was going to be fine.

“Not yet,” Agean whispered across the darkness. “Let’s wait to see if it comes again. Maybe we were dreaming.”

“Really, Agean? The same dream?” Even in the darkness the boy could see her eyes roll back in her head the way they always did when she thought him being foolish.

“Agean? Is that you out of bed?” Ella called from the other room. “Is Saol out there with you? She isn’t in her bed.”

“Yes, Mama Ella, I’m here,” she answered. “Agean..he just had a bad dream and I was helping him to right himself. He’s going back to sleep now, though.”

“I can’t sleep until I go outside and look into the sky,” Agean whispered back at Saol through the darkness. “I need to see that nothing is coming.” Agean got to his feet and rushed out through the door before Saol could grab him.

“Agean!” she whispered commandingly. “Come back here!” Saol knew it was no use with that boy. He was so strong willed. She got up and tiptoed quietly after him, casting a furtive glance at the room where Mama Ella was still in bed and, hopefully, already back to sleep. She hurried down the steps and stepped onto the soft, cool dirt, immediately searching for Agean. At first she couldn’t find him in the dark; but her eyes adjusted quickly and she spotted him standing a stone’s throw away, right in the middle of the path. His hands hung limply at his sides and he stared up at the half moon. She followed slowly up the path and as she approached from behind, something glinted in the half-light, dangling precariously from Agean’s right hand.

“What are you doing Agean? And what have you got there?” He lifted the precious treasure to look at it as he turned to face his friend.

“I miss her, Saol. Na. I miss her so much.” Even in the dim moonlight Saol saw the tears glistening in the boy’s eyes. There was nothing she could do for him to ease this kind of loneliness although she understood it well. Her Father was far away from her too. Saol wrapped her arm around his shoulders and gave him a quick hug. Agean leaned in and rested his head on her shoulder. Even in so short a time, Agean had grown as tall as Saol and she could see his father’s determination shining in the boy’s eyes. “I just got to meet my Father, and now he is far away again.” He looked down at the crystal in his hand and held it up in the pale light, the moon’s glow reflecting off each perfectly cut edge. Grandmother Moon’s whispers coaxed twinkling shards of light to dance over the dark earth ahead of them. They both gasped in excitement and Saol tugged Agean by the arm,  pulling him off the path and behind an old tree.

“We shouldn’t be out here, Agean. If Mama Ella wakes and finds us gone, we won’t be allowed to go with La Palabra in the morning. She will make us stay and work with her all day.”

Agean didn’t care about the new day. He was curious about the stone his mother had given him. He had watched her so many times turning her own crystal, gazing into it and bringing it to life. She didn’t know he watched. She thought he was sound asleep and he had become quite good at the sleeping game, although sometimes he did fall asleep waiting for something miraculous to happen.

“Maybe she is looking for me right now, Saol. Maybe I can see her in the stone.” Saol shook her head so hard he could feel it even if he couldn’t see her face clearly.

“You know what Palabra says about summoning the visions. We musn’t practice these things. We don’t know what windows we might open for things that do not come from the Light of Eternity. There are many eyes watching in the night, Agean. Let’s go back inside and sleep.” This time Agean saw her blue eyes shining earnestly across the space between them. He could not resist their pleading.

“Oh, alright,” he relented and hung the cord with the crystal around his neck. He grabbed her hand and they emerged from behind the tree and started back up the path to the hut. “Do you think they are in the Black Mountains yet, Saol?”

“I don’t know Agean, but I hope they get there soon-and I wish they never would get there.” Her eyes were wide with confusion but he understood her mixed emotions completely. Both children worried for their loved ones and their friends. They climbed the steps and tiptoed into Agean’s room, where Saol tucked her young friend into bed, kissed his curly head and whispered in his ear. “Remember what she told you. Na is always with you, so be comforted by her love.” She tapped his forehead gently. “And no more bad dreams.”

Agean clutched the crystal to his chest and retorted obstinately, “It was no dream. I heard the thunder of Domhan Eile.” Saol gasped.

“What do you know of such things?” She put a finger to his lips. “Don’t speak of that dark god or you may encourage him to pay us a visit!” Agean pushed it away. He wasn’t afraid of anything his mother wasn’t afraid of. So young and trusting, he had no way of knowing the things she kept secreted in her soul. “My mother and father aren’t afraid. They’ll bring back the Mother of Domhan. And her son too.”

“We all pray so, Agean. We all pray so.” Saol left him and slipped quietly into her room where Ella breathed softly, unaware of the children’s brief absence. It frightened the girl to think how easily they stayed away without Mama Ella even knowing. She vowed to keep a closer watch over her friend. He was so impulsive.

The children fell asleep sharing the same dream. They stood in the middle of the village, hand in hand, as the sun rose up over the dark horizon. Against the pink background of dawn the riders first appeared as tiny specks, growing larger and larger as the sun crept higher and higher. When they became life sized the sun fully illuminated the faces of the Hunter, the Warrior and the Sorceress, returning home at last…

For those of you following, this is a small piece of my ever evolving story. If you are interested in past segments just type Forever Never in the search bar. Happy mid week!
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