A Story of Forever

Part 10

Now remember that the Yemars came from the waters which rose forth out of Puri. The Yemars were connected with water. Water was what gave life and healing. It flowed through all the land, nourishing and vitalizing it. It flowed through all bodies, nourishing and vitalizing them. Blood was the element of water that was within all bodies. It healed everyone from all sorts of afflictions just as water purified and washed the earth.

Oella was one with the rain. Wherever she went, she could summon the rain to come. And she could make it rain anywhere.

Oella snuck out to the lands of the living sometimes. There she met and planned with the living Yemars who were also planning for the final battle. She made sure that the two sides of the battling party could fight in tandem with each other, the living and the dead. She made sure that the living were making their side of the preparations for the final battle and the dead were making theirs.

She made these visits seldom, and made them quick. For there was always the possibility of getting caught, the possibility of Karkion's spies being able to see through her cloaking magic. She did not want to try her luck any more than she needed to.

It was on one of these days when she was hurrying back from a meeting with the delegates of the living Yemars that she met Avulci. Now, Oella was in the form of a beautiful maiden, one of her three forms. Her other form was a skeleton and her third form was half-maiden, half skeleton. In her maiden form, she was ethereally beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful in all the lands. Avulci saw her and the Uzra wanted her.

Now Avulci was a minor Uzra, holding no powerful position but holding the power that came with his race. His life was agreeable, and flavourful. He thought himself deserving of all favours.

He looked at Oella, who was still yet a child-maiden at this time, and his heart wanted to possess her. And so he asked the child-maiden, if she would come with him to his hall. Oella replied tht she would not. He asked her again, and again she said no. He promised her gifts of fine gold if she were to follow him. But still she refused. Finally, he threatened her.

He said that she was a maiden out amidst the edges of the wild lands, where no maiden should go alone. If he were to tell Karkion of such reckless behaviour, he would surely have words with her. So thus it was better to come with him, and he could keep her safe and keep her honourable as all maidens should be.

Oella grew terrified at this, but she was clever. She did not let it show on her face. She told him that her father knew that she was out here, and he did not object to her adventurous spirit. But she told him that if he could impress her she would give him a chance.

The minor Uzra then recited for her a love ballad. And she pretended to be quite enthralled. So she went with him on the path leading to his abode. But when he had let his guard down, unwary and trustful, she made it rain from his heart. All the blood dripped out from his heart and left it empty.

And thus he died. And Oella wept. She had never killed a person before and she thought that all people, even Uzra, deserved to be dealt with peacefully as much as possible. She knew she would not be seeing his soul in her domain. But before she left she took his body and set it in his bed, to be found by whoever cared about him.

But this was not the last time a man accosted Oella on account of her beauty. Many a man from time to time pushed her to lay with him. But she always scared them off by draining the blood from some part of their body. She never again killed a man. But she warned them not to accost any girl ever again.

After the latest of Mamon's children had been taken away from them, Mamon sat in the forest and they wept. They wept like they had never wept before. Not only for the children who had been taken away now but for the children who had been taken away before, who had grown up without them being able to see, who had undergone such immense hardship without them being able to help. Mamon wept at the fates that had befallen all of their children. And it was like Puri weeping for Their children after They died. It was like the all-consuming grief that Puri felt.