The Sprinter

Chapter 15

Eloise shivered, and edged closer to the fire. They had ended their trek for the day near the river, and Ronan had gone to scout for a resting place, and food. He returned minutes later and led them to an abandoned temple - a large, circular platform made of marble and a ceiling, held up by pillars of the same material. Vines twisted their way around the whole structure, wrapping themselves around pillars and blanketing the floor whilst they decorated the ceiling, disguising it as the forest canopy. Their presence didn’t make the temple look derelict, or uncared for - as was expected. Instead, it seemed designed, intentional, and more beautiful for it. A shrine to the wild.

Arothena and Salene had set about building the fire, while Ronan had gone back out to hunt. Eloise had looked around the edge of the temple for any logs, or large rocks that they might be able to use as seating. Her search was successful, and Salene helped her to haul them up the large step.

Eloise liked her. Her mischief, the joy she took from the smallest things - especially if they were wicked. She sat next to her on the log, the firelight dancing in her eyes, highlighting her ethereal grace and beauty - but also her sharp danger. The lethal qualities hiding beneath her ruby lips and sharp cheekbones. The threat that flickered behind the wicked amusement in her eyes, and the peril that lay hidden in her heart, disguised by her sweet smile and perfect beauty. She was Demi-Rellae. She was a fighter. Eloise liked her.

Arothena sat opposite her, barely visible through the fire, and Ronan on her other side.

“This is a temple to the Eternal Shifter,” he said, “Look up, do you see the ring around the top of the columns?” he added, gesturing to the one nearest to them. Eloise craned her neck, looking up. She nodded.

“There are carvings there, of the different types of beasts that inhabit this forest. All going around in a circle, biting the other’s tail. Joined together. The insignia of the sixth Eternal.”

Eloise blushed.

“I’m sorry, I’ve never really been able to - I dont… I mean,  I know what an Eternal is, but I’m not really sure - how they work?” she stuttered, bowing her head to stare at the dirt. Ronan smiled.

“That’s alright. Eternals are like Gods - or Goddesses. There are six of them - one for Air, Water, Earth, Fire, Shifting and Healing. They each have complete dominion and control over their element, and everything in it. For example, the sixth Eternal - a female, by the way - has dominion over the make-up of all creatures, and over all who possess any form of shifting magic. However, the Eternal Air has dominion over all creatures that spend time in the skies. Sometimes, their dominions overlap.”

“What happens - I mean, how do they rule when -”

“Careful,” Ronan cut in, “They do not rule over anything, or anyone. We aren’t even sure that they have the power to intervene in our world. They create, and they watch over us, recording and remembering all that happens perfectly in their singing. They sing the Song of the Worlds, the tale of all things, in the Language of the Song.”

Eloise bit her lip.

“The Language of the Song is the language of truth, and the worlds. It is the code by which all things exist. Few can speak or understand it; it is incredibly detailed. Most only learn names. Names given in the Language of the Song are who you truly are, as stated by the make-up of the worlds.”

Eloise nodded thankfully, and turned back to the fire. Ronan slid a knife out from where it had been strapped to his hip, and began sharpening it. It was small, with a slight curve at its end. The handle was made of dark oak, and wrapped in sturdy leather. The metal of the blade gleamed, even at night, to the point where it didn’t seem like metal at all, but as if it had been forged from a star. The edges were sharp, the curves perfect, and the flat edge smooth, though it was considerably scratched.

Not scratched, she realized as she looked closer, but engraved. Engraved with ancient letters, which ran along the sharp edge of the blade. The symbols curved and dipped beautifully, like a dancer, pirouetting along the lethal edge of her little world. It was perfect.

Ronan caught her staring.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he said, without taking his eyes off his knife.

Eloise nodded.

“It’s the last part of the training of a Rellae warrior. When we are physically and mentally ready, we are each required to forge a knife. A knife that symbolises who we are. These symbols, they are my true name, my name in the Language of the Song. The knife is meant to be your closest companion, to symbolise the person who you can trust the most - yourself. It reminds us of who we are. These knives are sacred, and for someone else to wield your knife, it dishonors both of you for life.”

Eloise looked at the knife again. Those markings, they were who Ronan was. Truly and utterly. They were beautiful.

“What is your name?” she asked, but Ronan smiled, and said nothing, as he continued to sharpen his sacred knife, the knife that had been with him through all of his journeys, the knife that had seen everything, been buried in countless bodies, been the tool of his escape again and again - it was a relic; an ancient tool of destruction. And a part of him.

“How do you tell someone’s true name? Are you just born knowing it, as Rellae?”

Ronan shook his head, looking up from his knife for the first time in their conversation.

“There are special worshippers in the temples - the temples to the Eternals - who can divine your true name, through methods that vary depending on where you are. Sometimes you can figure it out, after achieving something, but usually only if you know some of the language first. Regardless, you will know when you hear your name. It will settle deep inside you - and you will not be the same afterwards.”

Eloise nodded. It was a lot to take in, to try and absorb a culture she had never been told about. Sitting in the ruins of a sacred temple probably wasn’t a good start though. A temple to the Eternal Shifter, if she remembered correctly. A shape-shifter. She could imagine shedding her human form - taking on that of some wild beast, and racing away into the distance. Free to leave. To escape. She smiled.

Something latched onto her arm. Eloise whipped her head around, and shrieked as she stared into the onyx eyes of the Commander.

Her friends stood up - just as more swarmed up the platform to pin them down. Ronan swung his knife, but a yenaki twisted his arm until he had to let go, and forced him to the floor. Eloise looked around in terror. Arothena and Salene were both in similar situations. She pulled away and thrashed at the yenaki holding her, but he merely took hold of her other arm, pinning them to her back. He called another over. Eloise could hear it’s approaching footsteps. The Commander jerked her back to give her to the other yenaki. Another pair of cold, bony hands appeared on her wrists, waiting for the command to take hold of her. The Commander consented, and let go.

Eloise took her chance. She thrust herself forward with everything she had, wrenching her hands free of the yenaki’s grasp. She stumbled forward, fumbling desperately to regain her footing as she tried to run. Head down, she leaped off the step of the temple and into the forest. When she finally dared to look back, they weren’t chasing her. The Commander was leaving, no doubt back to where they’d made camp. The other yenaki still had a hold of the others. Her friends…

The first people who’d ever shown her real kindness. They had taken her in, risked their lives for her, given their lives for her - and she was just going to run away. Maybe Salene was right. Maybe she was just that ungrateful. Maybe she should -

No.

Before she had even finished the thought, her feet were moving. Grim determination set on her face, she raced back towards the temple. Her blood was powered by pure adrenaline, and tinted by something else - something she couldn’t quite place. A fierce wildness she had never felt before.

No.
No.
No.

She threw herself onto the platform, not skipping a beat, launching herself forward until she flung herself to her knees in the centre of the temple. And then…

And then - Eloise exploded.

~~***~~