The Magical Realm of Shadows Part 1 Chapter 14

Diana Nemorensis

Diana and Rhiannon walked along a raised dirt road, talking about their love of horses, particularly palominos and roans. On either side of the road stretched vast marshlands, as far as the eye could see. Gel trotted on ahead, in between pauses to yawn and wait, as he scanned the skies above warily. Diana watched in fascination as two petrol-coloured dragonflies, as big as eagles, engaged in ritual aerial combat, frequently whizzing by so close that she could feel the vibrations of their wings. There were bullfrogs as big as bulldogs and butterflies as big as the dragonflies. Occasionally, she would catch glimpses of huge serpents gliding beneath the murky water between reed patches. A constant chorus of frog calls filled the air.

“You’re immortal, aren’t you?” Diana asked. “Like gods, you can’t die.”

“Yes, we’re immortal, but nothing ever really dies, because the soul is eternal. The only difference between us is that, when the natural lifespan of your body is over, you must be reincarnated in another form, become someone else, but I can stay in this form forever. That is, unless something bad happens?”

“But, what can happen to you that’s bad?”

“If this body were to be destroyed, I would be transfigured into another form, possibly a lower life form, like a rat, or one of those bullfrogs. The worst thing that could happen would be banishment to another plane of existence, and then Rhiannon would no longer exist in this world. At the moment, we have to be very careful of Kergal, because she has stolen the sacred weapons, as well as possessing powerful dark arts. Normally, we would just unite to depose her, but as things are, we could be destroyed.”

“But I don’t understand,” Diana shook her head. “If you’ve live forever, what’s different now? Hasn’t the queen always been like this?”

“No, Kergal was a good princess, at one time, till she became addicted to the black lotus pollen; you have things like that in your world, things that corrupt the soul?”

“Yes, they call them drugs. They warn us about them at school.”

Rhiannon paused and took Diana’s hands. “Promise me that you’ll never allow yourself to become addicted to those things and corrupt your soul.”

“Never, ever! I promise. So what about food, do immortals have to eat?”

“If we stay in human form long enough, we have to eat something.”

“But if you’re gods, why take human form?”

Rhiannon laughed. “You are an inquisitive girl. Do you not think that even immortals enjoy being able to touch and feel, laugh and cry, love and be loved, to experience the physical world. It would be very boring, otherwise.”

Gel barked at them, so they walked on, hand in hand.

“You must be very powerful, Rhiannon.”

“In your world, I would be, but here, I’m just an equette – a horse girl who can become invisible and start fires.”

“Rhiannon, did you never live in the world above?”

“Oh, yes, of course we did, until people didn’t need us anymore and stopped believing, so we made a home down here, among the shades. Anyway, come on, let’s ride and keep Gel happy.”

Rhiannon transformed back to horse form, and got down on her front knees, so that Diana could mount. They rode on, with Gel bounding along ahead, barking his satisfaction. The marshlands flashed past, until they reached woodlands and found a clearing to rest in.

While Rhiannon grazed, Diana sat beneath an oak to eat some of the barley cakes Morrigana had packed. Gel chased down some kind of rodent and swallowed it. Diana tried not to think about Billy, because she didn’t want to start crying in front of Rhiannon, again. She watched the shooting stars and listened to the melancholy bird song. It was such a peaceful spot, that the ambush came as a complete shock.

Goblins closed in from all sides of the clearing. With her head down, grazing, Rhiannon was taken by surprise, as a silver net was thrown over her. She shape-shifted into a woman, and tried to untangle herself, but the goblins grabbed the edge of the net and tied it.

Gel avoided the net aimed at him and dodged about, twisting and turning. Three times he grabbed a goblin and threw it over his shoulder, causing them to disintegrate.

Three goblins closed in on Diana, who had stood and backed up against the tree trunk, she gripped the mandrake doll tightly to her chest. With evil grins, the goblins approached the tree.

Diana saw the branches of the tree come to life and flail at the ground in front of her. Two of the goblins were whipped across the eyes and fumbled about blindly; the third was knocked to the ground. She could feel herself being drawn inside the tree trunk, but she was still able to view the scene before her.

“Shush,” a soft voice whispered in her ear.

Gel dodged another net, before running into the woods. The goblins searched around the tree, looking confused, and then returned to Rhiannon.

The tree tops shook, as though battered by a strong wind, and the air was filled with the noise of beating, giant wings. A great dragon descended on the clearing, hovering above Rhiannon, and Diana could see that it was ridden by Hagfang. The dragon let its tail rest on the ground, allowing the goblins to run up and perch on its back, then hooked a claw into the net and soared off with it.

Diana felt herself being gently pushed back out of the trunk, followed by a teenage Asian girl, whose dress was made from the leaves of trees, her dark hair tied in a bun by an ivy vine.

“Hello, Diana,” she said. “I’m Aria, the woodland nymph, pleased to meet you, at last.”

“How do you know my name?”

“The trees whisper their gossip. By now everyone in Astyxia must know you’re here, even in the outer regions.”

Gel came bounding back and made a big fuss of Diana, almost knocking her over. Then they heard the sound of manic chattering from above. It was the harpies scouting the area for Diana.

“Follow me,” said Aria.

The nymph led them to a nearby, dense thicket, which seemed impenetrable. But as they approached, the branches repositioned themselves and formed an arched tunnel. As they passed through the tunnel, it closed up behind them. They moved into the spacious hollow centre, which was still covered over by a thick roof of thorn branches, though enough light was still allowed through for them to see each other. A lush carpet of grass sprang up beneath their feet and Diana sat down, at Aria’s bidding.

“It’s cold,” Diana complained, “can we have a fire?”

“Sorry, no fires in the woods, Diana. Besides, the harpies might see it.”

Aria produced a soft blanket of woven moss and covered Diana with it. Gel lay down beside her, providing body heat. Then the denizens of the woods began to arrive, working their way through the thicket, or the small tunnels at ground level. There were song birds, doves, brightly coloured jays and a host of birds Diana had never seen before. Next came tiny deer, hares, rabbits, dormice, squirrels and even a pair of beavers.

Gel eyed them intently, head cocked on one side, ears pricked and licking his lips, looking as though he wouldn’t mind gobbling up a few, but not wanting to abuse the hospitality. Struggling to ignore the monstrous hound, the squirrels and dormice nervously approached Diana, depositing nuts and berries in her lap.

“They’ve been wanting to meet you,” Aria said, to Diana’s surprise.

“Me… why would they want to meet me?”

“Because you’re Diana Nemorensis, of course.”

“Nemor… ensis, but what does that mean?”

“It means Diana of the woods.”

“Diana of the woods… Diana of the woods. I like that, but what’s so special about me?”

“You’ve come to help us, to make Astyxia a better place.”

“Oh no…” Diana held her head in her hands and groaned. “But I’m just a schoolgirl with no magic, how can I possibly help? I couldn’t even save my own brother, and now I’ve lost Rhiannon.”

“You don’t realize the power you have, Diana,” Aria stroked her hair. “Your most powerful weapon is your innocence and purity, that’s what will save us.”

“How far is it to Torba’al, now?”

“Not so far, you’re journey is almost at an end. I’d say only a few hours on the back of your hound.”

“Do you think it’s safe now, Aria? I’d really like to get there, as soon as possible.”

“I should think so, come on.” Aria led the way out, as the tunnel re-formed before her.

“Can you come with me?” Diana asked with crossed fingers.

“No, I’m sorry, Diana, I can’t leave the woods. But if you should be near trees and you need help, just call for me.”

Aria helped Diana onto Gel’s back and kissed her forehead. They said their goodbyes, and Gel trotted off, with Diana praying she would find her sisters at Torba’al.