Island of Adnia: Origins

CHAPTER V – SIDE B: THE HAUNTED SWAMP (5)

CHAPTER V – SIDE B: THE HAUNTED SWAMP (5)        

"Your souls will be damned forever, bastard brothers!" says the witch between echoes. “Your bodies won't cease until they pay for this! Return the necklace now, or surrender to death!”

"What the hell are we going to do?!" shouts Amsiret.

“Keep running!” answers Arac.

"Until when?!" asks Amsiret, "can't you see it?! There are no escapes!”

"Well, if there isn't, we must make one!"

After nimbly dodging pressure above the shadows, the brothers managed to reach the small door. It was closed with dark magic, so the plasma god emitted a violet spell that was driven with a strong wind by the god of air. They tear it down, and pass through it; returning to the confusing passage of the swamp.

They succumbed bravely through the narrow paths; escaping as fast they could, amid the trembling malice that pursued them behind. A canting hostility, a terrifying figure. A cursed being, had been awakened for its greatest show; the giant witch devoured the weak light as she passed by, dimmed from the star to the island; dusk was apparent, and the tremors of the upcoming night favored Yelvira's might.

   The brothers began to take dangerous paths through the depths of the swamp, in search of the exit route. The roars of the witch roamed the passages, closing the earth with dirt and roots; blocking the paths available to the brothers, upon the race for their lives.

“If the nocturnal finishes falling, and we’ re still here, the moons of this planet will witness our death!” exclaims Amsiret.

"We must follow the path of the blueberries, there’s a tunnel at the end of it!" responds Arac. “If we can't get out, the beasts of this place will put our flesh to the test. No, brother, we won’t survive; we must hurry!”

The God of Plasma guided assertively, amid the tremors and the fall of the swamps’ roads, upon the path of thousands berries. As the tension grew, they recognize the fallen trunks that they perceived at the beginning of their journey; fallen, amid the suffocating chaos. And beyond the fading shadows, a ray of light was perceived, displaying a way out the mist of the cursed marshes. A glow, towards the warm hope.

“There it is!” exclaims Arac. “The light! It's the end of a road!”

The gaze of the god of the air loomed before the clearing of the exit, although quickly, the surroundings started to close; compressing between them, as panic took hold of the final stretch, at the eminence of the pervasive screams of the distant witch. The gods were running toward the exit, turning slowly into a small hole.

"It's about to close!" shouts Arac. “We must hast–”

"Arac!" interrupts Amsiret, desperately.

The god of air stumbled, and was grabbed by a living branch that dragged him all the way behind; taking him sharply, toward the depths of below. The echoes of silence vibrated between wails of help; shouts of desperation, carrying the name of his older brother. The god of plasma stopped his run, look behind for an instant, but he turned his back again, and kept running forward.

The cavities of the exit hole, were densely congested with a deplorable mucus that fell from the roots of the cavern; covering its walls with dirt, mud, and mold. Arac was forced to cut them through, abruptly; relying on his strength to pass the sticky, disgusting greenish matter; the extensions of the shadows narrowed him by all his extremities, as his powers became irrelevant to find the light, before the consumption of a f*******n magic.

"Why are they taking so long?" Marlina exclaims. “And what’s with the sudden humidity of these entrances?”

"The night is going to fall," says Emerita. “They must not continue in there.”

“No deity can survive the darkness of these lands; they are cursed by a sinister hunger” replies Marlina, anxiously.  “They will not be able to escape. They both know it well.”

“You say that, but you did it” says Emerita. “How did you?”

“Eme, I can't tal-

When the goddess of light was about to answer, out the first of the entrances to the swamp, the god of plasma arises, as a delirious walker; his body was covered in thick, greenish mucus. He looked at the soft, natural light, displaying in orange waves upon the horizon; and he knew, he’d finally reach the outskirts of the swamp.

Arac fell exhausted along the ground, right just at the faces of the astounding women; bewildered, at the survival of the god of plasma.

"Arac! I knew it!" exclaims Emerita. “You’re the one and on–

“Marlina!” interrupts Arac. “I've make it, my love! I've done it! Look at the miracle!”

The man removed his small brown bag from his waist; he wiped the mucus from it, open it, and a dazzling glow emanated powerfully from within; as it illuminated the women’s mind immediately. A golden presence, a sacred necklace. It was back; the purest essence of the goddess, now marveling at the sweet look in the eyes of the three blessed ones.

For an instant, the goddess of light was amazed at the energy that gushed forth from the plasma god; his brave action depicted the presence of an honorable man, and as he was inclined towards her, she felt a clear proposition, a firm sentence, that fascinated the corners of soul of the goddess. Dolling her with joy, and security; fascinating the depths of her heart. For the god’s eyes were portals from the spirit of a true man; a true king.

"Wait," says Marlina. “Where’s Amsiret?”

"He stayed behind” replies Arac. “I’m afraid, he remained in the swamp.”

"What?!" shouts Marlina.

"He tripped over some branches, from what I could see," replies Arac, “I couldn’t do anything.”

“You’re truly a disgusting brother!” answers Marlina. “Get out of my way!”

"You can´t do anything!" yells the God of Plasma. “The test has passed above him!”

The gaze of the goddess of light said the exact opposite. She removed the kneeled god with the glittering necklace in front of her, and enter the third path into the swamp; the third entrance.

With an imposing light around her glaring fist, Marlina exploded the mucus that covered the dirt walls of the dark path. She entered the swamp, before the coldness of the treacherous breeze, announcing the near night. The marshes were darkening; the mist took over light the day could offered, and doomed reminded her of the bad memories from her embedded experience in Clarendēn; her closest encounter with the face of death.

Desperate, she began to scream for the name of the god of air. The ground collapse with her steps; the cavities compressed with each other, and the underground tried to stumble her into the waters of gloom; the pressure increased. A lack of colors upon the humid plains confused the notoriety of the woman's vision, but her keen ears guided her closer to Amsiret, with the urgency of the blood-curdling screams of the god of air; he was being dragged against his will, through the cursed realm.

Amsiret was not far from her. In fact, the goddess perceived him more intensely; wherever the witch had taken him, was near the beginning of the land; around the mucus-filled chambers.

The swamp barriers molded obnoxiously in unpredictable patterns; they closed, they opened. They arranged below, fastened above, just as they pleased. The moment for light was running out. The woman did not have much time left, but she listened more closely to the cries of her beloved. And her steps led her towards a chamber of roots. It was open, and as she steps inside, she remembered the cave of distrust; with the small poisoned pond. And there he was, the twinge god; caught by the big hands from the eminence of evil.

“Let him go now, Yelvira!” exclaims the goddess of light.

“Marlina!” replies the witch. “You’ve arrived just in time! How good that you came to witness the death of one of your dishonored men! Knowing you, I thought you’d let this one pay for the sins of other!”

"I told you to let him go!"

Marlina launched a blast of golden fires at the witch; this beam forced her to release the sleeping body of the god of air, who was held by the witch's gigantic shadows. And as he fell, the goddess quickly made her way towards him.

"What have you done to him?!" shouts Marlina.

"Poisoned, by just a friendly stab from the consecrated branches," exclaims the witch. “A courtesy of the house, towards intruders and thieves!”

"He didn't steal anything from you!" responds Marlina. “And for your information, that necklace is mine!”

“Silence yourself, earthly scum!” answers the witch. “You seem to forget what happened to you the last time you were here! But don't worry, I'll remind you myself!”

A flurry of furious lights began between the witch and the goddess. Marlina dodged dark spells, coming from the name of evil itself. Along its cursed eastern wand, the evil emanated a greenish gas upon Marlina's shoulders; the goddess evades the attack, and fights back with a yellow lightening. The powerful blaze went straight into the witch's giant eyes.

 The brightness blinds Yelvira; stuns her vision, and above the small illumination, the goddess of light rose with her beloved, seizing the chance of escape, as she hangs her lover by her arm; stepping out. Wandering around, for an exit from the insights of the damned swamp.

The gods escape from the witch's trap. The sun was about to disappear. The moment was not enough for hope; as the sounds of frustration echoed throughout the place. The goddess of light finds a path that was familiar to her, but realized it was covered by a large web of poisonous mucus upfront.

Yelvira regained consciousness, and started searching for the gods among the dirt passages; she had no mercy in her will. The goddess was forced to follow the only path she trusted, and runs through the mucous walls with her unconscious lover in her arms. The cavity sticks quickly, traps them, and no matter how hard the goddess tried to destroyed the cobwebs of the greenish magma, she could not get through it. The inertia left the gods paralyzed; ready to be swallowed by the breathtaking specter of the shadow.

The terrifying witch identify them in the distance, and began to approach fiercely. Her disfigured face near, her voice of creep evident; motionless, the goddess of light thinks desperately. In the heat of the moment, she feels her left hand hotter; she managed to put her burning hand into the right pocket of her dress, and takes out the small mirror of fantasy and power. She grabbed it tightly, and started to sprout a power that illuminated the web trap; she closed her eyes, and instinctively, a beautiful pronunciation emerged from her soul; as the birth of a divine spell.

﴾ ITHILIĖM VEIDRODIS ﴿

From the magical spell, ran a current of electricity that adheres to the greenish web, and disintegrated the mucus quickly; the power reflected form the mirror, upon the interior of the cavern; brighten it completely, as the compelling radiance drove away the spirit of the witch. The gods fell to the ground, but the woman managed to cross the passage, carrying her man, until she reached the outskirts of the swamp.

Surrendered, she fell into the coldness of the land, along with her beloved; just as she felt safe ground again. Sunset was finally over. Night had proclaimed lordship among them; the confusion had ceased. Arac and Emerita where upfront, completely amazed. And when the goddess of light looked back, she realized, she achieved the escape through the secondary path; the second entrance of the swamp.

"You are the most impure and filthy man I’ve ever encounter!" exclaims Marlina, as she stares at Arac. “How the hell are you going to leave him behind?!”

“Marlina, you cannot be with this guy, just look at him!” replies Arac. “He is too weak! Do you think that’s the attitude of a king? Your yearning for romance makes you soft!”

"And your arrogance blinds you completely!" shouts Marlina. “You were about to lose your brother, and you cared more about enlarging your squalid ego?! How would you to treat your queen, if she was in danger too?! Tell me, king! Hypocrite!”

“Wake up woman! Don´t be a fool!” responds Arac. “Look at him! He can barely breathe! He stayed behind since we started the journey! He needed me every moment! Do you think that’s supposed to be the character of your true man? Do you think he can handle so much responsibility? Do you think he deserves so much power? You will have to carry him your whole life!”

"Well, that's the way it will be, if this is the one who knows how to love truly!" exclaims Malrina. “He will not be weak forever! He will rise above you! And I’d choose a thousand times for the nobility of the heart, for having a loyal one by my side, rather than the one with the stained soul! You've turned your back on your own family, how are you supposed to cope with me? What value would you place on your queen? You would never honor her! Look at you! You can´t even honor your own blood!”

"You ignored your only companion, upon this struggle!" continues the goddess. “And remember, he is my friend too, and you turned your back on him, to certain death! How do you want me to trust you? You´re not any king; you are a traitor!”

The woman got up with her lover, who was slowly regaining his consciousness; and both began to retreat towards the opposite way, towards the forests of the east, towards the mysterious anthem of the frigid night.

"But the necklace, Marlina," says Arac.

"I don't want to know anything about you, or about that damn necklace!" responds Marlina. “Consider yourself, f*******n to cross near my house, or you’ll really understand the meaning of boiling lightning! That goes with you too, Emerita!”

Marlina and Amsiret lost in the thick jungle of the night, heading north; their tired gazes repudiated the allusion to a waste of time, but one that instilled a warm relief in the heart of the goddess of light, as she witnesses the god of air breathing again, gently.

Emerita was still stunned by what she had seen; she did not have the opportunity to mention a single word, before the imposition of the goddess of light. And the mortal watched from the distance, the departure of the gods; the failure of her plan.

"I'm sorry, my love," the young woman exclaims. “I really thought it would work.”

“What are you talking about? It worked perfectly!” responds Arac.

“Really?” asked Emerita.

“Of course!” responds Arac. “A bit more aggressive than I thought, but better for me! I am already in her feelings. Now, we just have to move onto the next step. The last of them all.”

“Which one is this?” asks the earthling.

"To show her the beauty of difference," exclaims the god of plasma. “The accentuated dissimilarity. The sequence of intensity. A defined contrast, of my love for her.”

"Well, if you say so," the young woman replies. “But, what will we do with the necklace?”

“We?” responds Arac. “No, this necklace is yours, my love; for despite the plasma is always slipping away from you, the gold is destined to be yours, forever. It is the best of my gifts, from my steps, to yours; just as I had planned. And you will never need to ask for these, because these gifts will fall to you in abundance, like the eternity of our memories.”

“You promise?” asks the woman.

"I promise, Eme," the god of plasma replies. “Until the end of all my present, and future times.”