Adaliah Battle for the Covenant

Part Six: Return of the Ravyn

As Baiyon, the water gnome, began his long trek back to Nettilias layer, he couldn't help but think about the praise, admiration, and respect he was going to receive. When he received the message weeks ago that he was the one chosen, by none other than Nettilia herself, he was shocked. He wasn't much revered by the other water gnomes, he wasn't even much noticed by the water gnomes in his own clan.

Gnomes are known for their gift of knowledge. They retain, obtain, and maintain all knowledge known to every being, everything, and all that exists. They are the keepers of the library of all realms, and the guardians of the secrets of the multiverse. Gnomes are opposite to the Elven, as Elven are tethered to the future, gnomes are bound to the past. They are quite pragmatic and rational individuals. They don't joke, laugh, party, or prank. Everything is straight forward, to the point, and informational. But Baiyon was different. Baiyon desired joy in his life. He aspired to be an artist. When he first expressed this aspiration to his parents, they were puzzled; they didn't understand what caused him to be drawn to art. Now, it is not to be confused, gnomes can be callous in their approach, but they are not unkind. They are just practical in their way of thinking, art, beauty, love, emotions, and other concepts that were not tactile or tangible just does not make sense to them. So Baiyons parents, even thought they cared for him, took the practical approach and considered Baiyon's desires as a sickness. He spent many a year's seeing the healer of his clan, and even was taken to the head Shaman of all the water gnomes. None were able to find the cause of his illness, and therefore he was just deemed incurable.

As he reached adulthood he was given the job of being caretaker of the lost and forgotten books, considered to be the lowest of all jobs. But it was in this very job where he found his joy, he quickly realized that lost and forgotten books were the best ones, full of laughter, joy, fun, and love. He spent hours upon hours reading. He couldn't fathom why the other gnomes did not restock these books with the historical ones, they indeed gave accounts of what was, they were just told in a spirited and joyful way. He attempted many times to explain this fact, but he was shunned each time. After time passed, he gave up, and spent year after year alone with the lost and forgotten books. Then one day he received a message that had the seal of Nettilia, and everything was going to be different.

It took five days to complete the trek. Osirion took no shortcuts to find this place, Baiyon was impressed. The island was not on any map in the library of knowledge but was on a map in the lost and forgotten books. The book was written a long time ago, a time even before the gnomes existence, the book spoke of flowers mating with trees, grass with leaves, clouds with raindrops, back when the wind whispered to the snowflakes, and fire made love to the ground. When the gnomes found this book, it was considered nonsense and gibberish, and quickly shelved with the lost and forgotten. Baiyon was the only one who realized that everything that was written, was how it used to be. Before a being was created, it was the elements that existed, and they were more alive than they are now. Baiyon understood it, and Nettilia knew this.

He smiled his entire journey. Every couple of hours he would finger the vile to ensure it was still safe. The vile gave off a strong aura of energy. It surged through his body and it called out his name. But he knew better than to even open the vile even to smell it. He knew what his task was and he was going to stick to it, he would show all the other water gnomes just how special he was. Luckily the route between the hidden island and Nettilias layer did not pass through any dangerous pathways, but Baiyon decided it best to remain vigilant and mindful of his surroundings.

Nettilia owned all of the waters on all the realms, but her layer lay beneath the human existence just as Osirions layer lie above it, hers was the underworld, his considered heaven above earth. The unfortunate placement coined her as evil and him as good, all but humans knew that was furthest from the truth. Nettilia's layer intertwined with the library where the gnomes lived. She lived amongst the gnomes as Osirion lived amongst the Fae. She utilized their powers of knowledge and information. Baiyon had to pass through the library to enter to Nettilia's layer that housed the carbon she told him to give the essence to. One of the main reasons why Nettilia intertwined her layer with the gnomes was because the library was a three-dimensional labyrinth. It's twists, turns, dead ends, spirals, and winds kept the most advanced beings lost. Of course the advantage of Baiyon being a gnome was he knew the layout of the labyrinth, all gnomes did, they even knew the parts that were intertwined with Nettilia's layer. As Baiyon arrived he knew exactly where to go.