Rolling Shadows - Chapter 12

Tha'lif was wide eyed and walked smilingly on. She felt like a child who had been told that they where too young to ride a staff – so had studied extensively and now she was finally going to get to fly. The legends of the spirits where vague but she proceeded fearlessly along the dark cave, which soon opened into a dark chamber.
“They must be in there,” Tha'lif said pointing. They stopped just before the threshold of the chamber. It was shaped like a hive.
“Any ritual or procedure that we need to be aware of?”
“No,” Tha'lif answered Cassy's question, “I doubt that they'll even notice us – even if we came in shouting.” Tha'lif took the first steps into the chamber. Their where shelves positioned in all the indents of the walls. On the shelves were bottles, vases and boxes of bright colours, reds, purples and golds. Dispute being within a mountain their was still light in the room which shone off the shimmering vessels.
“They live within,” Tha'lif explained, “in those vassals they have their own world.” Despite her comments about shouting, Tha'lif spoke quietly, it felt as though it was only proper in such a place. “At least that is what is said. The world within is devised by their own imagination, or perhaps that of another. They can live any life, do any thing that their imagination can conceive. This is the reason why they have been difficult to speak with.” Tha'lif stopped once they had completed a circuit of the room. She walked into the center, which was marked with a red circle on the floor.
“I'm not sure I understand,” Cassy said, “play is integral to all sapient species. Non-sapient species play as well. Some of our ships have been known to attract sea creatures, they dive and, what you might call dance, around the ships. It would be considered play – not that I'm an expert. Nevertheless those species wouldn't neglect their requirements to live. Why is it different for the spirits?”
“Well,” Tha'lif said, now standing in the exact center of the room, “they do not live in time with us. It looks like they are slow to respond to the outside observer. It is their weakness. The real world need not concern them. They are stagnant society.”
Cassy nodded, “so how do we get their attention?”
“I am Tha'lif,” Tha'lif called to the room by way of a response. "As was prophesied by the centaurs with have come to seek you. We need your help. Please understand. You may blink and think it a moment but in that time a generation has passed. Wake from your slumber please and see time as we do. It cannot wait a century,” she stepped out of the circle holding her palms out, the equivalent of a shrug, she stepped out of the circle.
“This could take a hundred years?”
“A second in their reckoning, less.”
“Do we really need them?” La'ingif asked.
“We still don't know all the facts about the scroll you found,” Cassy said, “the manticores may soon overwhelm us.“
“We can't exactly return to the old home and ask for help.”
“We would be turned away,” said Tha'lif, “just like the Thell'frane.”
Suddenly at the apex of the room they saw a brown mist begin to float down towards them. It swirled around and became a pair of simple cloth boots. Above these were thick trousers, a brown tunic above which was a crude leather jacket. The mist seemed solid now, it had become an elf-like form. It wore a helmet that covered much of its face. Strangely it had hair, not just on the top of its head but also on the face itself. It, the man, carried a shield on his back and a sword sheathed on his belt.
“I am Thor,” came a booming voice, it cased the bottles and vase to rattle, “who dares disturb us?”
Tha'lif swallowed, but managed to give a defiant answer, “you need disturbing,” she even managed to raise her voice slightly at the end.
“We,” Thor rumbled, about to object. Instead he conjured himself a chair and sat down. Tha'lif thought this a rather odd thing, firstly he couldn't possibly be tired and secondly being seated probably made no difference, therefore it was a symbolic gesture. He scratched at his rough chin, frowned, sighed and looked Tha'lif in the eye, “you talk boldly for someone so young.”
Tha'lif opened her mouth, before she could think up a well worded apology Thor continued.
“I like it,” he smiled, “better than the groveling we usually get.”
'Usually,' Cassy mouthed to La'ingif, she wondered how often something had to be, to be considered usually amongst these people.
“What do you need?” Thor asked.
“The manticores are threatening us. We need your help.”
“That,” he said pointedly, “is a matter for you and your kin. Those who were seduced my magic.” He had now settled to a more sensible volume level, despite his answer being, apparently no, he still remained.
“Those of our kin are no longer in control. The Dark Ones were killed by their slaves.”
“The manticores are simply beasts, they will not control the empire well. Give it time.”
Tha'lif was now having trouble keeping her tone in check, “the incident I speak of happened over one and a half thousand years ago."
"A time not worthy of mention.”
“Perhaps not to you,” she said, then looking round the room she continued, “don't any of you understand we are different. Sunrise to sunset is a day for us, it is significant we have, maybe a hundred and forty thousand days, not the great expanse of time you have. “ There was silence. Thor however looked like he was considering the request. “To do what you ask would be exceedingly difficult. We cannot work on you're plain of existence. Like you trying to assist an insect with a construction job – it is too delicate work.”
“The the choice left to us,” came another voice, this one distinctly female, “is to give them the power to help themselves.” The three elves looked upwards to localize the voice. More mist began to descend from high above, this time white. It formed in to the shape of a beautiful woman. Her hair was long, thick and black. She wore, what seemed to be, a single piece of white fabric – though spirits didn't wear anything in the literal sense – it was in fact party of her. The fabric was draped into a gown that covered one leg, swathed across the body and covered on shoulder. Her skin had a strange reddish-pink completion and her ears were smooth rather than pointed.
“I am Pandora,” she said, now that she was fully formed.
“What,” Tha'lif began, “how did you come up with the form that you now employ?”
“This is the form of the humans.” Pandora said.
“They were spoken of in the scroll we found.”
“Do you have it with you?”
“Yes,” Tha'lif said, producing it from the bag, “it is now in original form, we of course used a translation spell.”
“Yes of course,” Pandora said as she took the scroll, “this is strange.”
“What is?”
“Well the language reads similarly to one of the human languages. It is different though. Yet we are aware of all of their languages. At least I thought we were.”
“Language can change greatly over time.”
“True.”
“So how is it you know the humans?” Tha'lif asked.
“We have had some sporadic contact with them,” Pandora said.
“Yes indeed,” said Thor, “many of us have visited them. We planned to simply be guides, but they do not understand magic and they believed us to be gods. The lack of understanding lead to wars being fought. Each one of us taught in the way that worked for the particular culture, and many of those cultures thought their way was the only way. Suffice it to say, we no longer visit them.”
“We can help you,” Pandora said, “give you what you need,” she floated up to a high shelf and brought down a box.
“In here is the oldest of us that exists on this planet. Zeus. He is nearing the end of his life and it is only at this time that many of us realize the error of our existence. He has hardly seen this world, living instead in the perfect world of of his own imagination. Some humans describe it as the god realm – never achieving anything, because there is always another day...until, somehow suddenly there isn't.”
Pandora whispered to the box. A weak, croaky voice was heard.
“The reason for their difficulties in fighting manticores is that the Fauns cannot match their power. If they could, they would be able to offer better resistance. This will be my destiny, to finally give something to the world. I hope that there is another existence beyond this one, so that the next few million years is better spent. Release me!”
Pandora opened the box. The mist of Zeus permeated throughout the cave. It headed out the way the elves had come, crossed the sea to the Fauns, rifled through the caves of the Dwarf countries and spread through the Centaur kingdom.
“It is done,” Pandora said, “the magic of Zeus has permeated the world – this one and that of the humans. It will effect each race differently. None shall be as natural as the elves with magic. The Fauns are already starting to free themselves and they will require your help.”