35. Chapter 35
Iknew bearing witness to Rida in person would change everything, but nothing prepared me for just how small I would feel in the presence of something so otherworldly—the place that made the Mother Blessed who we were, the thing that made our existence possible.
Just looking at it, I could feel its otherness, could see that even with how young Yllsora was as a world, Rida held an ancient power and knowledge that I might never be able to fathom.
It sat upon a great plateau, its bottom roots wrapping around the base like an anchor, as if it was gripping the earth, refusing to let go. A large staircase led up into its base, with scatterings of a village nestled in between the roots.
The city of Hythe.
The great city of the Mother Blessed, the place I had dreamed about all my life, right before my eyes.
It was said that the Mother Blessed here held a different type of connection to Rida, one of caretakers and defenders, less of acolytes and missionaries like I was.
I had always been so curious as to what their life was like and to see how different it was from mine.
Even standing there, I couldn't even begin to imagine what living so close to Rida, to all this power, would be like.
My connection to Rida was overwhelming even all the way north in Sorrel, her power a constant call, but standing there, the energy coming off Rida was magnetic, and I felt myself dizzy in its midst.
I suddenly understood what so many other Mother Blessed meant when they said the seduction of power was sometimes too much to ignore.
That is why we practiced restraint. The energy pulsing beneath my feet was enough to send tremors through my hands, my fingers tingling without even having to touch the ground.
I couldn't help but wonder how the Mother Blessed who lived here at Rida's base did it, how they were around so much power constantly and didn't lose sight of the true meaning of it, how they didn't find themselves succumbing to the temptation of all the power that laid underneath the surface.
Even more so, I was intrigued by the peace that radiated from Hythe and wondered if they knew of the approaching mainland men, wondered if the Mother talked to them the way she did me, if such a thing was even necessary, or if they simply just knew, being this close to Rida?
Malik and I began the trek down into the valley, the plateau Rida stood upon looming above us, having seemingly sprung out of the earth for the purpose of upholding Rida alone.
We stored the horses at the base before heading up the winding stairs that led to Hythe, the roots slithering down alongside us, as wide as a ship, all the way down until they tapered into the depths of the valley.
I could feel the thrum of power radiating off the roots, and I feared what would happen if I stayed here too long without an outlet for my power.
I could feel it building even more now that we were here, and felt it fighting within me, desperate for a way out.
The only thing that could distract me from the power fighting its way through my veins was Malik's hand on mine, steadying me, and the city that sat at the base of Rida, its many buildings and homes coming into view as we crested the stairs that led to its entrance.
We paused there, the pair of us taking the city in.
Where Sorrel was quiet and spread out, Hythe was a bustling city with densely packed with shops and homes stacked on top of one another. The street was full of activity, even at the late hour of our arrival.
We made our way through the town, observing as merchants made late-night deals and food stalls handed out meals to hungry mouths.
Music fluttered out of windows and smells billowed from stalls, groups of people gathered around deep in conversation, as if the king weren't on his way to destroy their home.
I looked around, taken aback by the lively atmosphere, as on the entire journey here, I had prepared myself for a city full of strife and panic.
But that is not what I found at all. Had the Dures gotten it wrong, and the mainland men weren't coming here after all?
Or were they waiting in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to strike, when the people of Hythe were at their least prepared?
I had many questions, yet another destination pulled at my attention.
Tears stung my eyes as I looked above to Rida, her heavy limbs creaking, alight with the glow of the eir as they settled on her branches, their journey having finally come to an end, much like my own.
Rida's shadow had loomed for the last part of travels, but now, standing directly under her, something shifted.
I felt an overwhelming sense of safety and a need to care for the surrounding area unlike anything I had ever known before.
Something about being this close to Rida made not only my powers surge, but my pride too.
That out of everyone, I was one of the few who could commune with Rida, that could save her.
I only hoped I would do right by such an honor.
The base of the great tree was visible at the end of the town square where the shops stopped and a path cleared to make way for her roots, the smallest of them half the size of the buildings that made up the town center.
I looked over to Malik to find him watching me, a small smile gracing his face. He knew what this meant to me, how long I had waited for this, and took my hand, leading the way through the crowd as we walked towards Rida.
The bustle of the town quieted the closer we got, the only noises were the hum of her power as we approached and the soft buzz of the eir as they nested.
Small single-stone temples covered the base of Rida, the walls overgrown with vines, roots, moss, and ivy, as if they were nearly one with the tree itself. And in them were women dressed in green robes, tending to crops and other foliage I saw in the raised beds within.
I was captivated by these women, as they were different from the Mother Blessed I was used to in Sorrel.
They seemed to have a calm demeanor about themselves, working with a steady assurance that I always longed to have.
I wondered if they knew about the rot or the approaching mainland men, that Rida and our very connection with Yllsora was being threatened.
It didn't seem so as they moved with an unhurried grace around their temples.
One of them noticed as I approached, looking up from the plant she was tending, a serene yet curious look on her face. The clothes I had worn when we left Sorrel were long gone, the green the Mother Blessed wore nowhere to be found on me, yet one look at my hands, and she knew what I was.
"You are a Mother Blessed?" she asked.
I nodded, hesitant but endlessly curious, my eyes flickering up to Rida looming above us, her branches seemingly nearly touching the Caelium. "Yes, from Sorrel. So I've never . . ."
"Go on," the Mother Blessed said, smiling. "Being with Rida is something every Mother Blessed deserves. I'm sure you've been waiting a long time for this."
I stepped closer, hesitating for just a moment before I pressed my hand to Rida in the same way I had dreamed of ever since I was a girl, my head bowed to her trunk, the pulse of her power echoing within me.
Standing there, with nothing but the drone of Divine power around me, I knew that this was where I was always supposed to be.
That all those moments of doubt, all those moments of questioning everything after the Shroud, had led to this.
I expected the power to be overwhelming, but instead I found what I had been searching for ever since the Shroud—a calm reassurance, a peace that could only be found among Rida and her roots.
I stepped back, running my hand down her trunk, taking her in. Even with the peace Rida gave me, I saw that she had not been unscathed by the rot that had been spreading since the Shroud. I could see it oozing out of her trunk, sticking to my hand as I pulled it away.
The Mother Blessed noticed my gaze.
"This is the best it's looked in years," she said. "Rida has been able to feed off the myco that's been spreading ever since the Shroud and has been able to regain her strength after being drained for so many years."
My brows scrunched in confusion. "Is it not a rot that's been spreading?"
The Mother Blessed shook her head. "Not at all.
The myco is food for the roots, for all living things on Yllsora, really.
It only appears when it is needed, and ten years ago, something happened that caused the Shroud, which then sent the myco down through all the roots.
Without it, Rida would probably not be standing today. "
I stood still, stunned by the words she had just said.
The rot was not a rot at all, but food for Rida, something she desperately needed.
And the Shroud, the thing that had haunted me all these years, the thing that I had come to despise, the only thing in my life that I wanted to go back and undo, was something that Yllsora had desperately needed.
Was this what Myaella had been speaking of when she said it would not be what we thought when we arrived at Rida?
"If this myco has been spreading under the surface, why have we still been struggling to channel our power from the roots since the Shroud?" I asked the Mother Blessed.
"You are from the north, yes? You already face harsh winters, so it is harder for the myco to thrive there, but you are also further from Rida, so it is harder to draw on her.
You power depends almost entirely on the Astaros, and if they did not have the myco to feed off of, it would have lessened your powers.
That and because the roots have a mind of their own.
Yllsora is sentient and can give and take as she pleases.
It's up to us Mother Blessed to know when she wants to give and when she wants to take. "
But have you been listening, Myaella had asked of me. And now, I knew what she meant. Now I knew what the roots had been trying to tell me, how they wished for us to work together, to have a perfect give and take.
Yllsora had been speaking to me, and I just did not know what to listen for, because the Mother, Mirelda, did not want me to know, fearing that then I would put Yllsora before her.
"Before the Shroud, we were slowly killing Rida with our use of Yllsora's power," the Mother Blessed continued.
"What?" I asked, turning to face her as I tried to conceal the shock on my face.
The Mother Blessed gave me a look of pity. "This is the first you've heard of this."
I nodded.
"After the Shroud, we tried to send messengers, but the further north they got, the harder it was.
They never returned, their messages never delivered, and we had feared that fellow Mother Blessed would be suffering because of it.
But yes, it is not a rot at all, but what makes all life on Yllsora possible.
We had been using Yllsora as a source of our power, and not giving back in return, slowly draining it of all its resources.
It was hard to come to terms with after the Shroud, but once we realized what we had been doing, we learned to work with the myco below the surface that is feeding Rida, and our powers have only become stronger since. "
Her words gave me a semblance of peace I had been searching for ever since Malik and I left Sorrel, for the last ten years really.
For so long I had grappled with the Mother Blessed's loss of power, wondering if it was a punishment from the Divine, when in reality, it had been the world demanding our cooperation, and we just hadn't been able to hear it.
Standing there, finally knowing the truth, I felt peace, knowing that just maybe, I could stand against the mainland men now that I knew what the roots wanted of me, now that I knew how my power properly worked, and how to communicate with the world around me.
But that peace would not last for much longer, for it was then I heard a sound I would never forget. A rattle that shook the air, echoing off the mountains and the plateau that Rida sat upon.
A rattle that marked the beginning of a new era, not only for Yllsora, but also for me.
A rattle that announced the mainland men, making their way out of the mountains and towards Rida.