Terraless night, p.1
Terraless Night, page 1
part #2 of The Fantasy World Series
Terraless Night
Thorby Rudbek
Copyright © 2018 Thorby Rudbek
All rights reserved.
ISBN-9780987767462
DEDICATION
When I began writing the sequel to Terraless I realised almost immediately that it had to be entitled: Terraless Night. During this period, I was struggling to hold on to my usual feeling of confidence that darkness has never been, is not and never will be the end of everything. Since that day, over three years ago, I have been blessed beyond my own imagination and reassured that, as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. And so I dedicate this volume to my greatest and most lovely new bequest…
As always, I accept any errors or omissions as belonging to me, and all the best of this creation as belonging to Him.
If, right now, you feel like the darkness is closing in on you and that your life is hopeless, as you read Terraless Night I hope and pray you will be reminded that ‘in the darkness there will always be a light’.
Hoping you find yourself, even in the darkest of times, as you take a journey, once again, through Terraless…
CONTENTS
Chapter One
7
Chapter Two
24
Chapter Three
40
Chapter Four
60
Chapter Five
73
Chapter Six
85
Chapter Seven
99
Chapter Eight
110
Chapter Nine
122
Chapter Ten
134
Chapter Eleven
148
Chapter Twelve
164
Chapter Thirteen
176
Chapter Fourteen
189
Chapter Fifteen
203
Chapter Sixteen
221
Chapter Seventeen
237
Chapter Eighteen
248
Chapter Nineteen
259
Chapter Twenty
271
Chapter One
Rain – Like Never Before …
“Ah! This is more like it!” Eshezy breathed in deeply, rubbing Rauffaely’s head with her left hand whilst savouring the sweet freshness of the air as she held her huge bow up with her right, its jewel-like crystalline centre section almost hidden by her gentle grasp. Drops of water glistened all around in the light of Waalaeth, the sun creature, showing iridescent rainbow colours and flashes of fortuitously focused fire on the leaves of the saplings that were scattered across the slight slope surrounding them. The blueness of parts of the dome overhead contrasted with the dazzling white of the scudding smaller clouds seemingly gathered around Waalaeth, and almost blended with the deep grey and purple of the massively tall concoction of water vapour still dominating much of the sky to their right.
Gefforen smiled, her deep blue eyes seemingly glowing under the marvellous light of the rejuvenated sun-beast; she was not really sure what her idol meant, but despite that uncertainty, was equally confident that it must be true. Athanashal, following close behind, shook his head one more time, feeling his shaggy dark hair becoming drier with each movement.
The rainstorm – deluge, really – had been heavy, but – fortunately for the weary travellers – though it had soaked them, the massive cloud had drifted away before the ground they were walking across had become completely saturated.
The aftereffect of the power of the first Terralessian thunderstorm – at least it was the first experienced by any of the threesome – was not to wash their boots clean, but rather to thickly coat their footwear with clumps of mud that made their feet three times as heavy as normal and to splatter their legs and leggings with reddish-brown splodges of muddy water from their ankles all the way to their knees. And of course, their scratched and torn clothes had become completely waterlogged. Fortunately for them, the newly invigorated and high-flying Waalaeth was generating a great deal more heat, in addition to the far brighter light which he radiated – somewhat from his many tentacles, but mainly from his faintly fish-like body – so that the cloth and leather-like materials which comprised their clothes were drying rapidly.
Eshezy pressed onwards and upwards, eager to get back to her many other friends in the fortress. I hope they weren't too scared in the first night; to be in total darkness and not know what was happening... that would have been the worst part. Eshezy recalled how Athanashal, Gefforen and she had been convinced that the world was ending. It must have been a time to keep close together – comfort and reassure each other, as we did. She reached the top of a small bare hillock and started down the far side. She realised that the several miles of ground which they had traversed as they had moved further away from the grassy knoll and the pool there centred, had led neither consistently uphill nor down, but as this large mound proved, their path was still far from flat and some small sections were steeply sloped.
Alongside her, another, far shorter walker was keeping pace, until––
“Geff!” Eshezy tried to save her young friend as she slipped on the increasingly steep, slick surface but was unsuccessful and almost fell herself. Rauffaely’s nuah sounded low and clear as he dug his claws deeper into the thicker material on her shoulders, to maintain his footing there.
“Urgh!” Gefforen slowly separated herself from the sodden soil, checking and confirming that the back of the lower part of her deep red tunic was now plastered to her dark brown leggings, extending the previously intermittent muddy layer more uniformly from feet to thigh. She grabbed a nearby bush, using its broad leaves to wipe the worst of the mud from her hands.
Athanashal looked away, not wanting to embarrass his younger companion by letting her see his amusement at what he thought of as her clumsiness. His opinion overlooked her relatively young age, but this was hardly surprising, as the concept of age was overshadowed – no, completely hidden – by the only discernible passage of time available to the Terralessians, that of measurable days since their first awakening in Terraless, and by this gauge she was his elder by a few weeks. He chided himself for being disparaging. She’s maybe not got the best balance, but she can hear things, things I sooo wish were audible to me. I shouldn’t be so critical! He stepped more carefully until he safely reached the bottom of the slippery hillock, where he found himself surrounded by mixed grasses and spindly trees again.
He checked the sky, relieved that the huge cloud that had soaked them so thoroughly was continuing to drift away, and grateful that it was headed towards the ocean and not towards the fortress he now thought of as his home. Maybe soon we’ll be on dry ground again. Looking around through the sparse trees, he noticed that there were other clouds drifting closer, now that the most impressive one was no longer overhead, and perceived that these were billowing, building, blossoming higher, too. Or maybe we’ll get hit again?
Eshezy had waited patiently for Gefforen to finish cleaning off her hands before resuming walking; she too contemplated the possibility that the respite from what she thought of as wilful weather would indeed be short. “Looks like we have more rain heading our way – sorry.”
“It’s okay! I like the feel of this ‘rain’ on my face – it’s just the soggy soil on my behind that isn’t so good; it reminds me of the River Beinkanap… before the water almost washed you away.” Gefforen said this as she kept position alongside her heroine, carefully dodging around the shorter saplings scattered throughout the grasses.
Now, that was a lot of mud! Athanashal grinned as he followed close behind them, recalling Harthangan’s appearance after he had waded through the silt-filled river bed twice.
The nearest edge of the massive grassland which surrounded the fortress became discernible on the slight ridgeline ahead. Eshezy was tall enough that it was partially visible despite the scattered shorter grass, bushes and saplings which permeated the zone through which they had travelled from the Proosthein-perpetrated pool. She was not too surprised – as the distance to the grassy field shortened – to see that the rapid rain had not flattened the tall stalks at all – somehow, they seemed impervious to the power of the ‘double-dollop’ dimensioned drops, though she vaguely remembered that this had not been the case in the world of her almost entirely forgotten, former life. Another strange thing to recall – something to remind me of the magic that permeates the plants and animals, the soil, the water and the very air of Terraless!
Once surrounded by the tall grasses, the ever-observant leader found that the trail was full of tiny green shoots, shoots that could be seen to grow taller as she continued leading them on their journey, though she inadvertently flattened some of them with her mud-encased boots. I’m glad they are still short and soft… I think they’d slow us down otherwise. I wonder how long it would take before this path becomes overgrown? Though it was harder to observe the sky from within the massive wheat field, Eshezy noticed – whenever a cloud drifted across the path ahead of them – that these other clouds were no longer growing larger, or at least were growing at a much slower rate. At first, she thought that she was only hoping that this was the case, as the now continuously upward walk was becoming tiring and the prospect of continuing along this uneven upward track for hours in drenching rain was daunting. Then, after a little more walking, she realised that the foreboding fulsome formations were actually dissipating and after another few hundred yards she could see that the continually contracting
Although her feline-friend had initially been as soaked as his furless companions, Rauffaely was now quite dry and had stopped shaking his head some time earlier. Eshezy’s face had initially become wet from these attempts to remove the water from his dense coat, especially the first few times. He was now in the process of washing himself, balancing on three fawn paws on her right shoulder as his left front paw brushed up the paleness of the patch between his dark brown ears, each stroke damping down – or rather, with the unique characteristic of the tough feline tongue, further reducing the slight wetness still there.
They reached the edge of the downfall – the ‘watery footprint’, as it were – of that first rain storm, in a few hundred more paces, and the junction was abrupt; the ground turned from sticky, slippery mud to dusty, loose dirt in a matter of inches. This not only meant that the path from that point forwards was dry but also that it was clear of new growth, making progress much easier.
“If we continue this upward trend, we should have a good view of our fortress soon.” Eshezy tried to encourage Gefforen, knowing how tired her young disciple had to be. She didn’t get much sleep during the last few days – and especially last night, if I can call it that… the first real night I – or any of us – have known in Terraless.
Rauffaely jumped down, making his trademark ‘nuah’ again as he did so, and ran off ahead.
Eshezy glanced at her shoulder, amused by the dry patch revealed by his departure. My friend the umbrella! As this unexpected and rather impractical recollection of pre-Terralessian terminology came unbidden to her, she burst out laughing; her slight staggering was disguised by her hearty response to the imagery of a dome-shaped rain deflector, hand-held and prosaically practical, with panels of differing colours comprising its thin, stretched fabric circumference.
Athanashal smiled as he looked ahead at his lovely leader, enjoying her unexplained display of levity. Oh boy! She’s really got what it takes, but the trouble is… Here his whimsical sense of humour showed through: I have no idea what that is!
“Sorry.” Gefforen almost bumped into Eshezy as her leader stopped walking abruptly. She stepped up close alongside her and looked ahead. They had indeed reached a prominent point in the wheat field, one several yards higher than the surrounding plain, and the view ahead showed – like an echo of an echo of the view she had so recently enjoyed from between the trees in the mountains at the edge of the world – a narrow panorama of endless grasses and occasional trees stretching perhaps ten miles ahead.
“Is that little grey smudge… ‘it’?” Gefforen asked tentatively, as she caught sight of what could only be the fortress.
Eshezy’s eyes zoomed in, bringing the building into sharp focus, allowing her to see the bricks – or, more properly, the slabs of stone – which made up the walls… and even to determine that there was someone in the end rooms of each wing visible, dutifully performing the lookout role. Can’t quite make out who each one is, though!
“Yes, that is home!” Eshezy limited her response, knowing what a contrast there was between her view and the one her faithful friend was experiencing. The mystical tower showed as a fine white line, stretching up far higher than any such slender construction could conceivably, architecturally climb, with a darker patch on the very top. Probably another lookout….
“Excuse me, ladies.” Athanashal popped his head between the two girls, using their ‘inner’ shoulders to steady himself, though Gefforen’s was much lower than Eshezy’s. He trained his icy eyes on the distant view – for him, the tower did not become visible, but the walls of the Fortress did show up as a distinct, low outline, distorted by the distance into a fine grey blur. “That’s still quite a long walk. We’ll be there late, long after supper, I think.” He looked up, noticing how Waalaeth was now far ahead of them, though he had initially seemed almost to be accompanying them on their walk. “So, the sun-creature will go down again, and the star dancers will come out?”
“That’s it! With the clouds fading away again, we should see them well tonight.” Eshezy studied his profile as he continued to gaze at the far-off structure. She noted his small nose, set into a softly curved face with a fine forehead, though that was largely covered by his shaggy dark hair. He’s like a ‘brother’ to me – though I don’t really know what that word means. Eshezy was glad that Athanashal’s hand was on her shoulder, as it steadied her and disguised the slight imbalance caused by the ‘gift’ of this partially comprehended word. And I know he’s not interested in me… like Basrillene… and Harthangan are. She wondered why these complications bothered her and realised that was exactly the reason why – it was because she knew that she had to stay focused on the further tasks that Janeesise would undoubtedly give her. And ‘B’ is too young anyway! The fact that she didn’t have a handy reason to discount Harthangan’s interest in her seemed to niggle, but she put that aside, considered Athanashal’s question and belatedly elaborated on her answer: “Yes, every night, now. That’s how Waalaeth gets to rest. And I’m not sure how easy it will be to see where we are walking, under the light of the star-dancers, with the tall grass to either side…”
A growl from someone’s stomach sounded distinctly in the silence after this statement, though the specific source of the internal noise-maker was uncertain, due to their close proximity to each other.
Gefforen leaned forwards so that she could stare back, past the lad’s intervening head. “Sorry, I don’t have anything for another meal.” They had eaten all the fruit that they had picked from the trees near the Proosthein pool for their makeshift brunch as they had walked through the rainstorm.
“Perhaps we’ll find another patch of fruit trees or some of those vegetables – I could bake some in the ashes, if we could manage a fire.”
“Hmmm. Let’s keep going.” Eshezy suddenly sensed something serious was about to happen. She moved on, pulling the other two with her urgently. “I wonder what Rauffaely went off to do?”
They continued up the narrow path, grateful that this route had been prepared for them. Eshezy marvelled at the foresight of Janeesise, creating such walkways, knowing that they would be needed. She is… adorable!
The sound she heard next was immediately familiar and caused a tenseness as she recalled the frightening experience of being swept away by surging waters. “Come on!” Eshezy urged her companions and they hurried forwards. There, directly before them, the ground was shifting and bulging. “Quick! Jump!” She led by example as she rushed those two words out.
Gefforen and Athanashal unquestioningly followed, and not a moment too soon. Behind them the bulge burst and water flowed off, cutting a path through the soft soil, carrying away a swathe of stalks as it did so.
“It’s a new stream!” Gefforen exclaimed as the new channel was created, further soil and plants following the first in the rush.
“Yes. Look how soaked the ground upstream is now. We couldn’t have got through that very easily.” Eshezy thought how much energy Athanashal and Gefforen had expended in pulling her across the mud-filled riverbed of the watery barrier now known as the Beinkanap River and how both she and Harthangan had barely escaped from that sudden deluge at all.
The threesome watched as the new flow increased, carrying away huge swathes of soil, demolishing more stalks that could survive the battering of heavy rain and finally exposing an impressive grey rock – on their side of the flow – which prevented further erosion.
“I think it’s time to clean up!” Eshezy looked back across the new stream, vaguely uneasy about the unexpected change. I suppose the heavy rain storms will change the surface of the Terralessian plains... a lot! “Athanashal and Gefforen, you can sit on the rock and wash off the worst of the mud. I’ll keep watch until you’re done, then do my own clean-up.”
