Chapter 32 Crossing the Rift #2
“This place is ancient. The portal has been growing ever since it was first discovered,” Blake said. “All we can do is try to contain it.”
I took a step back, feeling the intense power that was emanating from it.
“Where are we?” I asked in awe.
Beneath my feet, marble floors were covered in dust and debris. I’d never seen such grandeur before, not even in the most ornate palaces, but it was overtaken by time and neglect.
“Valendial La’Thenya—The Palace of the Sun. We are currently in a centralized area of the Realm. The energy that this place was built with comes from ancient times. It far exceeds our own abilities today. Our blood has become diluted over time. Come,” Blake said. “We have much to do.”
He headed for an exit, and I followed. My eyes were still adjusting to the light, yet when I looked out the windows, it appeared to be nighttime.
“Why’s it so bright?” I asked.
“You are adjusting to the more complex energy fields in this world. I am still holding you up with my everi,” he said, turning into a corridor.
“Holding me up?”
Suddenly, it was hard to stay upright and I dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. I cast Blake a glare from my hands and knees.
“Gravity is stronger here. The makeup of this world is denser and of elements you are not used to. You will adjust eventually, but for now, I shall assist you,” he said, taking off again.
The air around me became lighter, and Blake’s energy wrapped around me again. As much as I enjoyed the presence of his everi I was still annoyed I needed such assistance.
The corridors were grand, much like the room we’d arrived in. Moss and vines had overtaken the interior walls. As I took in what little I could see as we passed by windows, I made out a great ravine and mountains in the landscape. My vision was still blurry, but the stars lit the sky.
“Have you ever ridden a horse before?” he asked as he helped me down a grand curving stairway.
“Uh, once,” I said, moving slowly and carefully.
“It is poor timing getting here at night,” he said. “There is a place not far from here where we can stay. We should not be missed for a night.”
I looked around. This place was an abandoned palace.
“Why can’t we stay here until morning?” I asked.
“It is not safe to stay near the rift on this side,” he said. “We shall get to a safe location for the night, and tomorrow I will take you to the Void.”
“Come on,” he said.
I followed him down several staircases; some of the stone steps shifted and crumbled beneath my feet.
Blake took my hand, steadying me as we went.
We entered a vast, open space where shadows cascaded like streams throughout.
It was a ballroom.
An ornate and breathtaking room of gilded glory and cracked floors.
What had happened here?
Furniture and portraits were still hung where they’d been placed. Whatever had happened had been quick. My exhilaration from before was slowly waning as I took in my surroundings.
I felt its pain, as if it were still happening. What had once been a vibrant home had been desecrated and abandoned.
Now, there was stillness.
It existed in every stone and every room.
But that wasn’t all.
There was sorrow here.
“What happened to this place?” I asked.
Blake surveyed the room as he pushed forward with distaste.
“Legend tells us that it was where mages of an ancient era experimented with dangerous magic. But there are other, lesser-known accounts of its history. Everyone has their own opinion on what is true.
One legend, told only in certain parts of the Realm, speaks of a catastrophic battle.
Regardless of how the rift came to exist, mages have tried to contain and control it ever since.
It is not clear if the palace was constructed before or after the rift formed.
What we do know is that over time, anyone who tried to take up residence here would become ill and it has become a place feared by all mages,” Blake said.
Blake paused as we reached an open-air corridor with a balcony edge looking over a rocky seaside far below. As the waves crashed and the wind carried the scent of salt on its breeze, I took in the night sky.
Stars—thousands upon thousands of stars glittered in the night sky.
A streak of them were clustered tightly together, making a shimmering path through the sky of purple and orange hues.
Another smaller but denser streak of deep purples and blues shone brightly on the other side of the sky.
This streak was near a moon glowing a burned orange and a smaller one higher in the sky was shimmering in silver.
I stared in awe at the heavens.
“Are those… moons and tendrils of the galaxy?” I asked.
“Yes.”
My heart nearly stopped as it hit me.
“This isn’t the Milky Way, is it?” I asked.
Blake smirked.
“No, it is not.”
My vision blurred, and the light became a horizontal streak for a moment as I tried to process it.
Blake chuckled.
“Try not to think about it too hard,” he muttered. “You do not want to hurt yourself.”
I smacked his arm and cast him a wry look.
“Come on,” Blake said, laughing, as he tugged at my hand.
I allowed him to lead me; grateful he was guiding me.
I was beginning to notice the toll the different forces of this world were having on me.
I was over-encumbered by my own skin.
I definitely wasn’t prepared for this.
But Blake’s everi swiftly blanketed me like a shield.
“Thanks,” I muttered softly.
He squeezed my hand.
“It is beautiful, but none of what you see in the sky is real,” Blake said.
Not real?
“What do you mean?”
He looked up, his expression somewhere between longing and betrayal.
“This Realm is cursed,” Blake said. “The sky you see is an illusion of where Valyria once was in the stars. Wherever we are, it is not where the stars you see would have you believe.”
“How do you know? What could do such a thing?” I asked.
“You will see eventually. It is like everything else, Anna. You must see it and feel it for yourself to understand.”
We made our way down a steep and long stairway.
Cascading waterfalls sprayed around us and calls of creatures I’d never heard before sang in the distance.
We came to a stable where a beautiful black horse was waiting.
Blake saddled her in an elegantly stitched black saddle.
She wasn’t tethered, and when Blake approached her, she went to him, nuzzling him in the neck.
“Her name is Sadrina,” Blake said, stroking her back.
When he said her name, an accent I’d never heard before came out.
“Interesting name.”
“She was my mother’s horse,” he said. “She can sense my everi and be summoned from anywhere in the Realm.”
He shifted his sword to his hip and hoisted himself up before reaching for me. Taking his hand, he lifted me behind him.
“Hold on,” Blake said before taking the reins and saying something strange.
“Narthia.”
Sadrina responded by taking off at full pace.
I quickly locked my arms around Blake’s waist. She moved like the wind across the rocky landscape and took steep inclines effortlessly.
The gusts were cold across my face, and I leaned into Blake’s back, using him as a shield.
His everi cloaked me again, but this time, him as well, securing us to Sadrina.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
Trembling, I said nothing, not sure that I could.
“We are almost there,” he said.
Sadrina galloped toward a rocky stream, my body swaying rhythmically with each stride. My core was burning from overuse in this everi-dense atmosphere as I tried to keep from slamming against Blake’s back with every motion.
Suddenly, a fresh wave of Blake’s everi flowed through me, warming me from within. His presence pulled me closer, tightening its hold. My heart quickened as I realized his intention. Taking a breath, I eased my body against him, pressing my cheek against him and closing my eyes.
Sadrina’s pace quickened.
Blake’s heartbeat reverberated against my skin. It echoed Sadrina’s gait, a calm and assuring presence amidst such a vast, strange world.
When she reached the creek, she struck the water with such force that water sprayed well above my head, showering us in cool droplets. Her hooves crushed the pebbles on the narrow beach as she climbed the bank.
Feeling a fresh wind on my damp skin, I lifted my lids.
We were traversing expansive grassy plains, and the vast night sky sprawled out around us.
With the thicket behind us, I saw the silhouette of a tower in the darkness.
It looked like a monolith of shadow-slicked stone that nearly touched the night sky.
It gleamed under the orange and red light of the dual moons, smooth and unblemished.
“We shall be there soon,” Blake said. “It should be unoccupied, but if it is not, follow my lead.”
I nodded.
What might happen if someone were there?
Sadrina’s gait slowed.
The tower was massive.
It featured intricate filigreed carvings and multi-tiered balconies.
The closer we got, the more intense the everi surrounding us became. It was amassed here in a far greater quantity than I’d felt so far. I’d never experienced anything this dense and heavy. It weighed on my limbs and coiled around my everi like a snake suffocating its prey.
I mentally leaned into Blake’s everi, hiding within its warmth as we drew nearer. Whatever this place was, I could face it with him by my side.
A stacked stone wall surrounded the tower. It was perfectly intact, as if it were new, but I suspected it was much older than it appeared.
The sound of Sadrina’s hooves clanking against the cobblestone path alerted my senses.
We were drawing near—no more dirt pathways and forested terrain. Gradually, it became lined with stone, and orchards of trees with silken leaves or metallic colors.