In which the Pevensie siblings are pulled to Narnia's aid once again, but they are not the only ones who respond to its call.
The eternal struggle with Calormen and dark alliances might cause the fall of Narnia if they do not act quickly.
...
Hello everyone! A little late this week, I apologise to whoever is still reading this story for that!
Hitting the seventh month of isolation yesterday and it's taking a toll on me! What a crazy year!
Please enjoy this story and tell me what you think, it means a lot!
Not C. S. Lewis!
Chapter 11: "Dancing Lawn"
A shiver went down my spine with the sound of the thunder. I looked around the Dancing Lawn, a few centaurs, nymphs, fauns, dryads, and some talking animals were already there, and we seemed to be the last.
"I thought the harvest was just a centaur practice?" I voiced out to Allyri.
She looked around to where I was pointing. "Well it actually is, but on full moons we receive help. It's like the moon summons and gathers us, creatures, and spirits of the forest, of the wild".
Out of the corner of my eye I could see the severe face of Casio, Captain Casio, second in command on the King's Army.
He looked one time at Allyri, and I felt the guilt creeping at me. I knew Captain Casio was not very fond of me. He was a serious centaur, kind of severe, harsh sometimes. Captain Casio was not happy to find out I was being taught by his peers. Although he was too demure to say anything in my face, he just makes disapproving faces every now and then.
Casio makes me feel like an intruder.
This time he just pressed his lips into a fine line and looked the other way. I glanced at Allyri, she too had seen his expression, but she gave me a reassuring smile and came to stand beside me.
Fortunately I was greeted with friendly greetings by the rest of the group and soon I found myself forming a circle with the rest of them. The wind was strong, making it hard for the torches to stay lit, its fire dancing wildly only illuminated the circle we were in, behind the trees that surrounded the Dancing Lawn only darkness was seen. Every once in a while the sky lit up with some lightning.
No one was talking around the circle, they were just looking up at the sky nervously, a sense of uneasiness could be felt among my harvest peers.
"What exactly are we waiting for?" I quietly asked Allyri on my right.
"The rise of the moon" she whispered, glancing back at the dark sky "it always shows herself"
"The moon? You mean you are expecting to see the moon on a night like this?" I asked incredulously. There was no way we could see the moon that night. Condensed clouds cover the black sky, not even a hint of light in it apart from the occasional lightning.
"She'll show herself. She has to." Was she trying to convince me or herself?
"Why is it so important? We already know it's a full moon night, we've followed the calendar"
"It's a bad sign, child" answered a voice on my left.
Phaelis. A centaure, beautiful, bronzed skin, chestnut shiny hair (both, in her human head and horse like lower body), and deep green eyes, quite older than Allyri was, if I would have to guess their ages I would say Allyri was in her mid-twenties while Phaelis was already in her early thirties. But then again it was impossible to know, they all seemed fresh, like young people, no more than forty but they had old-like souls, how they spoke, how they act, they exuded superiority, wisdom. I guess they just don't age like humans do.
"A bad sign? How so?"
"Us, centaurs, we were gifted at stargazing. It is our duty to watch the sky for signs of what is to come, but we have been deprived of it for several nights now" I knew constellations were a great part of the centaur culture, but had they never seen a cloudy sky?
"But this is common, I mean, the weather, there are seasons in which the climate changes and that's it. I'm sure we will see a clear sky in a few days" I stated, minimizing the matter a bit. "Right?" I added when I saw Phaelis and Allyri exchanged worried looks.
"The weather here has a voice of its own in Narnia. We have the typical seasonal changes, and then we have extremes. We are not very fond of extremes, Anne" Allyri explained to me.
At this point I recalled the long winter they suffered thousands of years before, in the reign of the white witch, a tyrant queen who conquered Narnia for one hundred years of a cold white winter. That was the first tie the Pevensie siblings came into Narnia.
Note to self, weather change has a more deeply meaning to life and events in Narnia look into it.
"That and what we saw on the last clear sk-" but she couldn't finish as Sotenio, let's say the chief, leader, cacique, boss, whatever you wanted to call that member of the group who is the eldest, or the one who denotes greater sapience of the group.
Curiosity pricked me like a thorn but Sotenio was already speaking to the circle in a deep voice.
"With each change in season, it's pertinent to check in on the matters of life and make sure we're not leaving any important parts of it behind, and along with this there is tremendous power in harnessing the energy and rhythmicity of the moon.
Let's harvest today the first herbs of the season, the strong ones, and the ones that survived the freezing cold. These will be the ones that will heal our people, our warriors, our kings and queens, our family." he voice was deep and strong, it could be heard over the thunders and the wind. "May the moon light guide you towards them, let it illuminate what is unclear or uncertain".
I could hear a soft sound, it was a tune and then a chanting, I couldn't make out the lyrics. Looking around I saw some fauns playing harmonious melodies in the flutes and in the middle dryads and nymphs joined in a dance. Something like ballet, but not quite like it either. It was more natural, the moves weren't poses, they were gentle and wilder, it was a pagan dance. It was beautiful.
The melodies reached and filled my body with a beautiful and enchanting sentiment... hope. I wasn't aware how weak my hope was.
Whispers around the circle snapped me out of my thoughts. The music and dancing were still going in the middle but everyone's attention was once again in the sky. I looked up and what I saw took my breath away.
There it was, the moon was breaking out in the sky. A perfectly rounded astronomical body. A warm yellowish glow in the outcast sky. It was an entrancing scenario.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
With the ceasing of the music and the last torch fire extinguished the harvest began.
