Chapter 9 #4
The virtual guide informed us that the Syllen segment of the tour was done.
We would return to the visitors center through a slightly different path.
It would cover more general topics about the flora and fauna of Mazeria.
Kayog released my hand and hastened in front of our friends.
He gestured for all of us to follow him instead, prompting Tala and Mares to take the reins to redirect their mounts away from their preset path.
At first, I feared that they would refuse the command.
Technically, riders had some control over their mounts, especially if they wanted to revisit a segment of the tour or wanted to get a little closer to the structures.
They could also land in various safe areas, so long as they didn’t attempt to leave the Xilqen Canyon with their Nordjarimm or seek to enter areas that were clearly marked as forbidden.
To our collective surprise, Kayog led us back to the waterfall statue with open hands. He flew directly towards the lower hand and then vanished behind the cascading water. I raced after him, and to my shock, the entrance of what seemed to be a temple revealed itself behind the curtain of water.
The beautiful doorway had to have been carved, and yet the intricate, swirling patterns felt extremely organic.
It was as if huge wooden vines, the size of thick tree branches, had emerged from the ground and hugged the gray stones in a deliberate but artistic fashion.
Lush leaves sprouted over them, and small green vines dangled in some places.
However, it was the delicate flowers with glowing pistils adorning them that took my breath away.
To my chagrin, the virtual guide had gone silent, depriving us of additional information about this secret place.
I landed and walked up to Kayog, who had stopped a few meters in.
The air of peace on his face reflected the one I felt.
This place was sacred and radiated with the divine.
Tala and Mares landed moments later, displaying an air of pure awe as they dismounted their Nordjarimm.
The creatures refused to follow them inside when they both tugged on their mounts’ reins.
I didn’t perceive any fear from the creatures, only the firm resolve of pets who had properly been trained not to do certain things.
“It’s okay,” Kayog said in a reassuring tone. “The Nordjarimms are not allowed to enter the temple. But they will patiently wait for us to come back out.”
“Are we allowed to enter?” Tala asked in a slightly wary tone, echoing the thought Mares and I clearly shared.
Kayog smiled. “Access is not forbidden to visitors, but it is not advertised as they prefer to limit who enters it. In a moment, you will understand why. But just so you know, there are numerous protective mechanisms hidden in plain sight. Should anyone attempt to desecrate this place, they will be paralyzed, and the guards will be alerted.”
“Okay, I’m glad to hear it,” Mares said, relief and excitement audible in his voice. “This is mesmerizing. I can almost feel this place talking to me.”
“It’s not surprising,” Kayog said with a smile. “The Syllens share many similarities with your species. It is heavily speculated that you have a common ancestry, although it is uncertain how that came to be. Come, you will want to see this.”
The emotions emanating from Mares grew steadily as we walked through the wide corridor towards what appeared to be a massive cave. A shallow recess in the middle of the corridor—maybe two feet wide, and one foot deep—ran its entire length, allowing water to pour into the cave.
My jaw dropped as we reached the end of the corridor.
A humongous chamber greeted us. The statue of a Syllen female dominated the room.
She’d wrapped her arms around the shoulders of the two children flanking her—a male and a female—who were looking up at her lovingly.
But where their faces expressed trust and serenity, hers sent a cold shiver running down my spine.
It wasn’t her expression, but the fact that a red liquid resembling blood poured out of her eyes in steady streams that trickled into the pond occupying the center of the cave.
All around, countless giant trees intertwined their branches into a continuous circle, almost like a Celtic knot.
They didn’t have any leaves, just a few vines interwoven in their thick branches, like the ones adorning the entrance of the cave.
However, it was the giant knots all over their trunks that took my breath away.
A golden dome, seemingly made of amber, covered the large opening of the knots.
And within, people in fetal positions appeared to be sleeping.
Mummified Syllens…
“Ancestors,” Mares breathed out as he advanced almost in a trance towards the trees.
Horror hadn’t prompted that reaction, but pure marvel.
“Is this blood?” I asked hesitantly while staring at the red water gushing out of the statue’s eyes.
“No,” Tala said with a conviction that took me aback.
“At least, I highly doubt it. There’s no coagulation at the edges of the pond, and there isn’t that distinctive smell of blood.
I believe it’s the same phenomenon that occurs on Earth at Blood Falls.
It’s a waterfall in Taylor Glacier in Antarctica.
The underground water trapped beneath it is excessively saturated with iron.
As soon as it comes out, the iron instantly rusts upon contact with air, which gives it that blood-like red color. ”
“You are correct, Tala,” Kayog said approvingly. “Based on recovered texts, a Syllen prophecy claims that the day Etreya stops crying blood, the Syllens will be reborn.”
“I’m assuming that statue is Etreya?” Tala asked.
Kayog nodded. “She’s the Great Mother, the goddess of land, home, family, fertility, and love. According to the archeologists, that legend might actually be true.”
“What?!” Tala exclaimed.
“Recent studies of the underground streams indicated that the iron levels have been steadily decreasing,” Kayog explained, his voice bubbling with excitement. “They believe that in thirty to forty years from now, they will have diminished enough for clear water to stream down her face instead.”
“But how will they be reborn?” Tala asked.
Her tone clearly expressed that she was struggling to accept what she presumed his answer would be. The troubled glance she cast towards the trees seemed to confirm it.
“These Syllens will rise again,” Mares whispered in Kayog’s stead before carefully placing his palm against the trunk of one of the trees, a few centimeters from one of the knots inside which a mummified Syllen lay.
His veris extruded and sank between the grooves of the bark, just like he had done with the tree outside the campus.
In seconds, an air of pure bliss descended over his handsome face.
His lips parted and slightly quivered, as if he couldn’t decide if he wanted to smile or cry.
The Edocit’s eyes glistened and then tears began to trickle down his face.
“Mares, are you okay?” Tala asked, taking a nervous step towards her mate.
“Yes, Tala. He’s fine,” I said in a reassuring tone.
While I couldn’t see or feel whatever Mares was currently experiencing, his emotions shouted loudly a deep joy and infinite love.
“Mother…” Mares whispered at last in a quivering voice.
I gasped as countless blue flowers with glowing pistils suddenly bloomed along the vines adorning the intertwined branches of the trees.
It was like a domino effect, starting from the tree Mares was touching and spreading to all the other ones.
It almost gave the impression that a starry night had appeared inside the dimly lit cave.
In response, the flowers in Mares’ own hair bloomed. It was an instinctive reaction that Edocits had no control over, and which expressed extreme happiness.
“They’re alive. All these Syllens are alive… just dormant,” Mares said with wonder. “These trees are almost like our mother trees. But instead of merely sheltering the Syllens during their gestation like ours do, they are preserving their children until the time of their rebirth comes.”
“Really?” Tala asked in a hushed tone, flabbergasted. “Didn’t their species vanish more than two hundred years ago.”
Kayog nodded. “Correct. But they have been in this semi-stasis state ever since. They appeared mummified simply because they shed all the water from their bodies. This halts their metabolism and makes them extremely resistant to dehydration, radiation, and major temperature variations until their environment is safe again. It is a deep state of hibernation similar to tardigrades on Earth.”
“Wow, that is amazing!” she said with awe.
“It is,” I concurred. “During our entire flight, I could feel their presence but couldn’t figure out who was emitting those soft emotions. Never in a million years would I have expected this.”
“You can feel the dormant Syllens?!” Tala exclaimed, stunned.
“Yes,” I replied, while Kayog nodded.
“Yes,” Mares said, wistfully. “They dream while the Mothers watch over them.”
“You guys seriously suck with all your cool powers,” Tala said with envy as she gazed upon the trees with wonder.
Mares chuckled. “Don’t be sad, my love. Come, let me introduce you to Mother,” he said, extending a hand towards her.
Although taken aback by his request, she went to him willingly. He took her right hand and pressed it against the trunk of the tree. Tala licked her lips nervously and cast an uncertain look at her mate. He gave her a gentle smile.
“You cannot feel her right now, but she can feel you. She loves you a lot and made me promise that once you and I are mated, I will bring you back so that you can properly be introduced. You will have your own veris then.”