Dark Earth Anthology

The Fledgling's Journey

1829 London

A true companion is a light in the darkest of times.

Clarissa ran into the woods, heart pumping, sweat dripping down her brow. She took a quick glance back to make sure Anna was with her and kept going. She kept over logs, rocks, and the like making sure to not stop until she saw the water. When eventually the lake appeared she nearly tripped directly into it barely stopping on the edge when Anna, who had been on her tail the whole time, came barreling into her, sending them both into the cold dark water. Both parties scrambled to the shore as fast as either of them could go and for the first time since the Circle told them to leave they stopped and took a breath. Anna tried her best to light a fireball but she only managed sparks as did Clarissa. They sat there shivering in silence when Clarissa suddenly started laughing. Soon they were both laughing without even knowing why. When morning came it found both of the Fledglings sprawled on the grass trying desperately to get dry, their stuff laid out beside them. When they finally decided that they were dry enough to continue they packed their stuff back into their sacks. Anna pulled a stick out of her pack, whispered a few words to it and threw it into the lake. She whispered a small prayer under her breath as she watched it sink helplessly. She sank to the ground hopeless, Clarissa came over and sat beside her feeling empathy for her friend when the sound of something resurfacing out the lake finally came. Anna looked up in surprise and delight as she saw the stick shifted into a full length canoe, she had not been lied to by Mother after all. Cautious as to not tip it they both got in, each taking a paddle. When they were both ready they set off first across the lake then down the river toward a new future. They rowed in silence for a while when Anna decided to speak up "Why..." "Why what?" Responded Clarissa "Why were we told to leave?" "I don't know, I imagine it has something to do with the vampires but I'm sure it all got sorted out..." "Then why did we leave?" "I find it best not to question Mother." With that the conversation ended and they continued once again in silence. After a while they started to get tired and stiff so they consulted the map they were given to find the nearest port and luckily they weren't too far and within 15 minutes they arrived. It was nearing evening as they walked down the main street, looking in store windows and admiring the houses around them when a kind stranger spoke from behind "Are you girls looking for a place to stay?" They turned and saw a tall man with rich long red hair and a flowing white coat. His face was one of a younger man, even if he wasn't particularly old there was wisdom, kindness, and a certain lack of life behind his eyes but the girls were too tired to notice and so they went with him. He led them to a house that was not far away. It was rather nice, they thought, quite homey and quaint as well. He showed them a guest room that he somehow forgot the location of 3 times before they made it. He left them alone saying he was going to make them some tea. "Don't you think this is a bit off?," Asked Anna with suspicion in her eyes, "I mean he comes out of the blue, gets lost in his own house and we haven't even learned his name. Sounds...wrong." Clarissa thought about it for a minute. "You've got a point but he seems nice enough...I think I shall go ask him his name and clear up a little bit of this mystery." She stopped unpacking and went to the door, she tried the knobs but the door did not open, she tried a few more times, "It's locked." Fear spread over the two of them. "Quick, maybe we can hide in the closet!" They rushed to it but found it was also locked. Clarissa fire-bolted the door down and gasped. Blood covered the floor of the closet and in the middle of it was the body of, what they assumed to be, the previous owner of the house with his skull bashed in, laying in the corner with a large coin bag in his hands. They slowly backed away and bumped into something behind them. "Looking for something girls?" They screamed and a lighting bolt shot through the roof and sent his body full force through the floor, crushing him into the table below with a deafening crash. Clarissa covered her ears still screaming, Anna didn't even move, there was a pop in her ears followed by a warm feeling running down both sides of her head. The duo jumped down the hole on top of the body and made a mad dash for the exit but found it was locked too. Back to the door they turned and saw the headless corpse arise and start shuffling toward them holding a lit candle stick. They screamed once again and a gust of wind knocked him down sending the candlestick sailing across the room into a carpet, rapidly catching it on fire. Panicking they ran for the nearest window and jumped through it landing in the bushes outside and scrambled out of them toward the street. Without looking back they sprinted for the woods just out of town deciding unanimously that they would rather camp. That night while Clarissa slept Anna laid there cupping her ears listening to the insistent ringing trying hard to go to sleep and eventually managed it. She woke up to the sun, it was nice and quiet, almost too quiet. Clarissa was mostly packed by the time her friend sat up, wondering where to go next she asked "Do you still have the map?" Anna merely stared at her as if unsure she had even said something so she asked again. This time the stare turned concerned and so she yelled it once more and the stare became one of fear. Panicking, she cupped her head in her hands and began to cry, she could not hear her friend rush over and start comforting her and asking what was wrong, it all sounded so far away like a whisper through water. Anna's head jerked up and yelled "I CAN'T HEAR YOU CLARE!" and went on sobbing. Clarissa, taken back by surprise, thought quickly and wrote in the air, a shimmer following her finger making words in the air. She tapped Anna's shoulder and pointed to the words 'we will get through this together' imprinted in gold writing in the air. She sniffed and nodded as the words washed away on the wind "Ashallalah willing..." During this entire affair a figure watched from the shadows of the leaves, silent and unmoving like the very tree itself. Between Anna's erratic state and Clarissa working to communicate it took them half an hour to get moving again, by that time Anna had calmed down to the point of semi-rational thought. There was a rustle of leaves in the trees, Clarissa looked up and could have swore the leaves were denser than they are now but she shrugged it off blaming it on the stress and only when they were truly on the move did she feel a bit of doubt about what she had truly seen. For a while they walked through the woods following the map Mother had given them, taking great care to follow the course. Anna held the map, it distracted her from everything that happened earlier while Clarissa held her hand to keep her close in case she started freaking out again. As darkness chased away the sun across the horizon they came to a clearing and set up camp, but tomorrow they should be in another town and hopefully it will be more welcoming than the last. Sleep came as swiftly as the night itself and it stayed that way until... Clarissa's eyes shot open to the sound of extra breathing. She looked around, panicked and stayed as still as possible. Her groggy brain took a minute to process the surroundings but when it did there was something very wrong. The shadows were moving, working hard to focus her eyes she saw a man, tall and lanky in black tight-fitting robes and a porcelain mask standing over her friend with a dagger in hand trying to slit her throat while she slept. A wave of fear swept over her as she lay, sweating in her bed unsure what to do. A sudden feeling of impulse pushed her out of the sheets and quickly sent a vine through the ground, catching him by the ankle. He thought just as quickly if not even faster and within half a second he was free and making a run for it, leaping over logs and under trees. Clarissa did not give up and before he could get too far she summoned a vine whip from the ground into her shaking hand and with ferocity that only someone taken off guard could manage she caught him by his neck but he kept running. The whip was torn out of her hand and he continued as fast as he could into the trees up the nearest one and, in not even 5 seconds, he was gone, or so she thought because 10 seconds later there was a violent snap like that of bone that came from the direction he ran. Curious, she ran toward it and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the figure just standing there, as she got closer she could see him swaying back and forth in place as if tethered by something. Closer yet and she suddenly cried out in horror as she saw her whip that had wound around his, now horribly disfigured, neck attached to a tree branch. After a moment of fear filled paralysis she yanked him down by his legs, severing his neck entirely. After throwing up in a nearby bush she came back and started truly investigating, on his body she found the small iron dagger, and an amulet in the shape of scythe: the symbol of Mol, God of the land beyond life. This symbol was no mystery to her for the cult of Mol has been the second largest enemy of Ashallalah's believers. She backed away from the body, terror in her eyes. This is...not good she thought, she knew that the followers of Mol were a force to be reckoned with. I...we need to get out of here...now! She ran back to where her sleeping friend lay and shook her awake and wrote on a blank page of her journal 'The cult of Mol has found us, we need to move now.' Understanding and primal fear spread across Anna's face as she quickly began to pack up getting ready to make the final push to the next town. The nearest town was a quaint village with one small pub hotel which is where they would be staying, they were taking no chances with any of the locals no matter how nice they seemed. When they arrived it was still dark but the town was wide awake, they must get started really early thought Anna as they made their way to the pub where they purchased a room for cheap. It may have only one bed but they didn't particularly care and for the first time since the woods they were finally able to rest. The current plan was to spend another day in the relative safety of the town to recoup and restock traveling supplies. When people asked where they were from they lied through their teeth with the story that they were mail carriers from London and everyone bought it until that night. They were hanging around the pub drinking ale, they were too young to drink but the bar keeper didn't care as long as they paid when a tall gentleman dressed in gray robes similar to theirs. "So, who are you delivering for?" He inquired. Clarissa began to panic when he chuckled "When one lies about one's past you must think of all of the possibilities of inquiry... isn't that right fellow believer?" He offered to take them to his house to live there for a few days and Clarissa knew better than to refuse the hospitality of her superior and so she grabbed Anna, turned in the key to their room and paid for their drinks before leaving with the wizard. As he led them through the streets he introduced himself as Vari the town wizard and local Ashallalah priest. Clarissa was surprised that Ashallalah had chosen to give her ways to a man but he said "It is not Ashallalah that judges by gender but rather those who practice the old ways, when I was chosen it shocked a good deal of other people too, some for the worse but I tried my best to keep my friends close and enemies far as any man in my position would." They walked past a bakery when he asked "I noticed the stare on your friend like she almost isn't here and she has been awfully quiet, is something wrong?" Clarissa started to tear up "We had a bit of an accident at the last town we were in and she went completely deaf. It's scaring me, I feel like I'm losing my only friend. I do all I can, I write messages in the air and on paper, I tell her that I care and that I am looking out for her but she doesn't smile any more and she has this stare as if she is looking into the land beyond itself." When they eventually arrived at the small house he unlocked it absentmindedly. He pointed out their room then immediately headed down into the basement. An hour later there was a knock on the door of their modest room. When Clarissa opened it she was greeted by a stack of books, the top most book was labeled 'The Basics of Telepathy' and a note on top 'for you and your friend'. That night they read the books for 5 hours straight trying to get down to the bare basics, it was over their skill level but they were willing to give it all they had, they fell asleep on the book. That morning they agreed to go get groceries for Vari in return for letting them use the books. For days this went on, they would be coached on the art of telepathy in return for doing various chores. Slowly Anna's smile returned to her face, which lifted Clarissa's spirit from its depressive pit. It was a peaceful existence. One day they went to the market to get the groceries. The stalls were packed with people trying to get their fruit and meat all while trying not to get trampled. Every stall had a smell and every smell formed a chaotic cacophony, a symphony for the senses. The girls were still lost in the wonder of it all as if they had not been here before. When they returned to the timid house the wonder turned to concern when they saw that the wooden door was slightly ajar. Anna went through the door first, her eyes widening at the sight of the carnage that took place inside. The table was overthrown, the walls were burnt with the wallpaper flaking off in chunks, stuff was ripped from cabinets and books were scattered throughout the floor. The hanging light shattered on the ground, making Clarissa jump while Anna built up the courage to continue further in calling "Vari? Vari?..." she ran up the stairs and nearly tripped on the body around the corner. She bent down and put her hand in front of his nose and called to Clarissa "He's still breathing but barely." Clarissa bent down next to him and noticed his hand was over a bloodied spot on his robe, he groaned back into consciousness and gestured for her to come closer. He whispered to her in a hoarse voice "Mol...did this...they...agh!," he grimaced, "They were after you...saying something about a map... keep your...friend safe and take the books...they are yours...now." His final breath was a shallow one, the kind that implied immense suffering as well as true resolve in that he had done his purpose. His last thoughts were: I have been fulfilled.They stood up with solemn looks on their faces, she gripped Anna's hand "let's go..." thought Clarissa mostly to herself as she led them to the room to gather their stuff. They knew that, with the cult on their trail they were not going to be safe until they reached the other Coven. The town that was so full just minutes before now seemed so empty, hundreds of people yet none all at once they felt truly alone. The walk out of town was a tired and somber one as they continued north, a pair of eyes once again tracking them from the shadows. Despite all of the hardship they had endured they were still determined to carry out their orders. For a few days it was all the same, they would travel till they couldn't anymore then rest. The eyes traveled with them, sleeping when they slept, eating when they ate, not daring to make a sound. After they passed through two more towns they finally reached a town on a river marked on their map called Bristleby. Bristleby was much like almost any other town they had passed except that they noticed that the majority of the residents were female with few exceptions. When they inquired about a coven of Ashallalah a few heads turned to look at them, most would not answer and so they just stayed in the hotel. In the morning they were met with an unsigned letter that said 'go to the Portsmouth Inn on the west side of town along the river and say to the Tom at the bar "light speaks in the shadows." He will know what it means' and so they did as they were told by the anonymous letter. Tom's eyes flashed with understanding at these strange words saying "And the darkness never whispers, come with me, were you followed?" "I think we were followed by the cult of Mol..." he nodded his head as he led them into a room behind the bar full of food and extra mead. He carefully closed the door and moved an empty mead barrel revealing a trap door, below it was a ladder that led down into a deep well lit cavern full of doors on all sides and an altar at the direct center. They smiled at each other, they were home at last. They were greeted by a woman who appeared no older than themselves dressed in a deep blue robe with purple highlights with a strange necklace holding a large blue gem, recognizing the emblem on their own robes she referred to them as Faelings. As they passed through one of the doors to the right of the altar she introduced herself as Emily, advisor to Mother.

As Tom, who was at the bar, returned to his post another man of medium height, wearing a black leather tunic and matching pants walked through the door and started toward the back door. He was stopped by the man working the bar "Employees only." "Don't tell me what to do boy." The other man gestured to a dagger in his belt. He looked at it then back at the man not appearing to be shaken. "I said...this is employees only." This time he drew the knife. Not wasting a second the bar keeper grabbed the man by the collar and shoved him through the door behind the bar and up against the back wall among the barrels of ale. He held him for a second before grabbing the dagger out of the man's hand and thrusting it up his stomach and dropping him to the ground. "Employees only, bitch." He left the man bleeding on the ground, making sure to lock the door in case his victim somehow recovered...which he didn't.

As they stepped to the other side of the door they were met with an almost ancient looking woman sitting in an elaborate chair made of branches and leaves. She was wearing a necklace similar to that of Emily. "Come in my children, I am Mother Isa of the Sisterhood of Light, what brings you into my domain?" Clarissa bowed deeply and Anna followed suit. When she stood up she replied "The First Coven was attacked by The Hoard and we, the Fledglings or as you call us Faelings, were told to split into groups of 2 and travel to here, are any of our sisters present?" Isa thought for a second "I do not recall anyone else with your story coming through here but it may be that if your story holds true we may see others within time. But if what you say is true then we will gladly open our arms to fellow believers as Ashallalah commands of us. Do you wish to stay?" After a second of consideration and telepathic communication the two girls nodded and were shown to their beds by Emily by order of Mother Isa. After a few minutes she came back with new robes for them in the style of the sisterhood. When they were left alone they said thanks and gave praise to Ashallalah for the shelter of their sisters.

Over the next couple of weeks a total of 2 other Fledglings arrived which led them to assume the rest got picked off by the cult of Mol. Anna stayed in her room for days in mourning for her fallen sisters. (This may not be in final) As the duo grew to love their new home they discovered something they hadn't quite before, a special delight in each other's company. Through the next few years Anna and Clarissa grew closer together emotionally and telepathically. One never went anywhere without the other in hand. To Anna, Clarissa was the only person who understood what she was going through and to Clarissa, she saw Anna as the only one who could communicate on a more intimate level than anyone ever could. Clarissa was her world and Anna hers. One day Mother Isa lay in her chamber surrounded by the entire sisterhood including Emily whose gemstone seemed to have dimmed from brilliant blue to gray. Isa was blessed with a vision from Ashallalah of who was to lead them into the new age and her dying breath was "Sister Clarissa, you shall bring us to the new dawn." When she breathed her last Emily's necklace shattered making her appear 20 years older yet still having the same youthful face. Clarissa was stunned and even contemplated running away but within a few days she started to warm to her role but she didn't want to do it alone. So she defied tradition and took on a partner of equal power. Anna was shocked but in time accepted her friend's gracious gift and together they did their duty to make and uphold a strong sisterhood. Though they were raised in the Coven they never looked back until years later. After a few years of ruling in tandem Anna wrote a sonnet for Clarissa and left it on her bed titled 'Is this love?' It went like this:

Is this love?

Is this what love is to you too?

Flying through life never saying what must be said

Maybe I am just the blind fool you knew

Who would never see where my emotions have lead

You were my best friend for oh so long

For you I have become but a fool

My lonely heart now belts out a dove song

If my heart is on fire then you are the fuel

Oh my dear Clarissa forgive me

For my amateur verse seeming uncouth

For only you I would bend to one knee

And speak aloud my one and only truth

My heavy laden heart is built anew

For the words on it are 'I love you'

When she read it she immediately ran to Anna with open arms and embraced her. Keeping with the tradition of breaking tradition they were the first Believers of Ashallalah to ever perform wedlock, ushering in a new era of the sisterhood and altering tradition forever.