Prologue part II

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Forty years later...

"Are you telling me that not only do we have to go over the main walls and through the whole city, but that she's behind other walls within it?" Incredulity and annoyance crept into Nakul's voice.

The little Sylph turned her small face to look at him with a raised eyebrow but didn't bother to repeat herself. 

Her white wings were flapping so fast that he thought of the hummingbirds, but only hers didn't make a sound.

They were almost out of the woods, approaching a main path, and all too soon they had to change form.

"You know I hate dragging my human feet; they feel like they're made of clay."

Nephira pointed out, "You're stalling," encouraging him to move forward she added. "It's not so bad if you concentrate on something else, like how things feel when you are in their form."

Nakul groaned, and she rolled her emerald eyes.

"You'd think for someone who's spent fifty years among the humans, you'd be used to it by now," Nephira went on, scowling as Nakul interrupted her once more.

"Forty years!" he corrected her. "I know numbers don't make a difference to you, but I count every minute!" He replied in a heavy, irritated voice.

Nephira immediately fell silent and turned her attention forward and he instantly regretted his overreaction; after all, he was more than lucky to have sought him out as soon as she had sensed his presence and offered to help once she had found out what kind of trouble he was in.

She possessed a long-forgotten ability—by his folk and also by the other realms—to sense the presence of spirits and identify their nature.

In fact, she had sought him out as soon as she felt his presence in proximity, for when Inemin was still at the Gates between Worlds, he had helped Nephira escape and cross over to Earth. 

Now she had come to meet him and offer her immediate help in return. Nephira knew where she had felt the spirit of the Guardian before she met Nakul. 

Not only had she offered him the information, she had also offered to accompany him so that he could make the proper identification.

 For that, he was more than just grateful. Thanks to her, they were now heading for the capital of the Ether Kingdom, the largest and most flourishing kingdom in the world.

No wonder, he thought as he looked around at the abundant forest of raw green. Here, everything always seemed fresh. The scent of musk flowers and greenery surrounded them as the woods roared with the multitude of creatures that reigned in it. What a home for the iele would be!

 Considering the land had everything from fertile lands for agriculture to access to clean and abundant water sources, this place was nothing like the land of the Warpath Kingdom from which they had just come, with arid terrain and strong winds which reminded him of the land of the Draks, except there were no rivers of fire in this land.

Nestled in the central mountains - the 'Rugged Chains' - of the Ether Kingdom lies this capital, surrounded by a solid wall. Lush vegetation and streams meander effortlessly through the city.

The playful waterfalls blend effortlessly along the streets, as do the brick, stone and wood houses that seem to have grown out of the rock.

As they descend from the high peaks, they flow gently through the rocks, caressing the surrounding vegetation.

Nature has covered these dwellings with soft ivy and lush moss. Green, red and orange foliage covers the roofs and caresses the flowers that decorate the front steps of each building and continue along the facades from one neighbour to the next. 

 Miles away, after flowing into the mighty River Ether, these streams converge to form the continent's largest waterfall, Wanderer's Waterfall, which widens into a fertile delta that flows into the Roaring Sea.

Perhaps the Hiraeth Kingdom, neighbouring south-west kingdom, was closest to the natural wealth of Ether, if not the same, but that one was too small to hold any power. 

Nakul bent his head to pass under the branch of a tree in front of him, pushing the twigs of a shrub out of Nephira's way that she could easily have flown around, but she acknowledged the meaning of his gesture and smiled blandly. He's heart grew warm; he dreaded having offended her.

She turned her head to look at him as she continued to fly straight.

"Have you ever found a reason to really hate them in all these years?"

He looked down at the thick grass he was stepping on and said, "No, no, but that doesn't mean they've changed; I've always been among them in their form."

"Correct!" she agreed, but the silence she left suggested something else.

He had to ask. "You don't think so?"

Nephira smiled kindly and said, "No!"

 "Why not? They are destroyers of worlds. There are realms out there where they destroyed all the magic, and spirits have completely vanished. Those places are ruled by humans and humans alone."

 "So they say."

 "You don't believe that?"

Instead of answering, Nephira asked him another question: "Have you ever been hurt when you were in human form?"

 "Yes, I see where you're getting at, but they only helped me because they thought I was one of their own..."

 "Did you ever see them fight Draks or Iele?"

 "Of course, what's the point?"

 "Think a little. In all your years on Earth, in what situations have you seen humans attack our kind?"

 Nakul frowned; he had never looked at it from this angle. While he was deep in thought, they passed by the last thickets of the forest, and a wide path came into view.

 Nephira ceased hovering and closed her eyes. In a split second, she transformed into a middle-aged human woman, fitting in like any other in their world. 

The ability of a creature the size of his palm to assume a form so large compared to its original size left even a shape-shifter like him baffled. 

He yearned for the days when such talents were just beginner's tricks, when all creatures roamed freely without boundaries between their realms, and magic wasn't reduced to just two wandering shifters and a few fire-forging skills.

Nakul stifled a deep sigh.

 But, yes, travelling clothes were the key to passing through the Ether Gates; the little Sylph had once again chosen well in her transformation. Considering how many centuries she'd wandered Earth, it was a basic thing to know.

 Indeed, he had also done this countless times in the past four decades, going from city to city, but he still hated changing into a human. However, this time, it might be his last.

 He also tried to block out the hope that this might be one of the last times he would have to do this, if not the last, and the worried look of the woman next to him, who watched him with bemused eyes.

 He drew in a breath, massaging his old temples, letting the change shake his body and his insides, and in a fiery second felt the weight of his new body.

 Nephira snorted beside him, even more amused. "Sailor, huh? You have retired and…"

 "And I took a wife and decided to find the best life in the bosom of the great capital of the great King Rugnis." He said, putting his heavy arm around his "wife's" shoulders as she laughed loudly and pulled her beside him, and out into the soft afternoon sunlight.

 The clatter of some carriages could be heard approaching. Perhaps this was their chance and their entry ticket to enter the great city of Ether.

☆ .☽. ☆

Towards dusk that day, two rabbits in a large wooden cage, sitting on a bed of yellow sânziene, looked at each other in a way that was quite unusual for ordinary animals, with too much consciousness. 

The smaller, fluffier white rabbit was shooting murderous arrows from its eyes at the larger, short brown-haired rabbit sitting in the other corner of the cage, too small for it, looking guilty.

Nakul, for he was the brown rabbit, cursed his days and tried to avoid the accusing gaze of Nephira, who had tried so hard to enlighten him why it would have been better to transform into cats so they could infiltrate the fortress behind which she sensed the presence of the Spirit of the Worlds. 

But no, he had decided rabbits would be more appropriate.