Dawn of the Nephilim

10. Meeting the Graie part II

Still unable to move, he locked eyes with the woman again, feeling angry and confused.

What just happened? he thought with what he hoped was a demanding tone.

In front of him the woman's aura of bright light dimmed down to the point where he could clearly discern her flowing garments and rippling hair.

-I just obtained the information that I couldn't obtain otherwise.- A cold expression slid over her face. -You should have told me what I asked of you. Do you think I would treat you such if I had no reason to? I even let you clumsily rummage around in my own mind without destroying you, though you behaved so coarsely that I was very much tempted to. You come here in the form of a bird without warning nor an ability to hear voices and approach us...- She frowned, and made an agitated gesture, offering a first clear look at a smooth skinned hand. -I now know that you do not know what you have done and I shall admit this puzzles me. It doesn't matter however. You must forget all that you saw here, and shall not deal with us again.-

This answer did not satisfy Ronan at all. What about the lights though? And how can you.. -lights?- It was exceedingly annoying that she could apparently interrupt him in his thoughts. A worried expression had slid over her face. -What lights have you seen? You did not go so deep by far.- Ronan was still more than a little irritated at all the things that were happening to him at such a high pace and the apparent nonchalance by which this woman whisked away his concerns. I saw many lights; yellow, red, green. Something really strange happened with a black light, and my brain, which you are treating none to kindly I have to say, got rattled in a bad way, which I would very much like to prevent next time.

An expression of horror crept across the face of the woman. Her mouth voiced a silent 'no' that resonated in his thoughts. -You were making such a ruckus that I didn't notice you actually went there. Have you really...?- Suddenly Ronan felt her inside of his head again. It wasn't an aggressive attack like before, just a small tingle. It was as if his brain was scanned with a million delicate fingers at once. This continued until she found the place where traces of the black light still seemed to linger. She seemed to inspect these places very carefully, before slowly retreating and leaving him at peace again. Her presence radiated such a deepfelt dread that he carefully held his tongue. -Kraken's beak, what a mess I made of things. And so have you, son of man. You wanted to pursue me, but you found poor unconscious Tiar'Mara. 'Finding' does not begin to describe what you did. Violated, more like. Moreover, you left every attachment you made and have intertwined your very core with hers, which ought to have left you spouting gibberish if any light would remain in your skull at all.- With disbelief clearly etched across her face, her eyes had turned a blazing red. -Would that the world had left this day untouched in the deep night's bosom.-

Tiar'Mara, the bitter one... Her name resonated inside of his head. It felt familiar. It sounded none too pleasant, but he might as well call himself the salty one at present, so he didn't read too much into its meaning. What do you mean a connection? His agitation started to shift to uncertainty. The thing that happened with the blue light, and the black one.... It wasn't altogether normal.

-Do you not feel different birdrider? Can you not feel that there is another presence within you that is not me?- I don't know, how could I tell the differ... Suddenly an aching pain in his chest overwhelmed him. He had been hurt! They had hurt him. No, not him. But somehow also him. -I cannot explain now, Ronan.- The expression of the woman had almost shifted to pity, and her voice sounded more tender in his head now. Her eyes turned a soft blue. -If you stay here now you will fare no better than would a candle in the wind. If you survive your own folly, you will learn to rue this day as much as I do. Find us if you wake up; coming to us will be your and Tiar'Mara's only chance. Since your last memory was about you going to sleep, I assume that your body is asleep. Come with haste. Don't worry about the route, you will know.-

Ronan was beginning to become scared. A dream? But a dream in which he could feel so much pain? No! You have to explain it to me now. What happened to me? Who are you? What are you? The woman just shook her head. -Come find us Ronan.- The shape of the woman faded as the light surrounding him became brighter, until it had reached an unbearable intensity. Ronan wanted to shut his eyes.

"No, wait!" Ronan found himself sitting straight up in his bed. He had spoken the last words out loud. He listened for a while. It seemed nobody had heard. Was it all just a dream? He felt sticky and dirty. And there was an ache in his chest. He lowered his blanket to look at the spot where a burning sensation emanated. He froze and felt a cold shiver run down his spine. On his chest had emerged a tattoo of a black rose. As he stared at the rose, it started to disappear in front of his eyes, as if it sank into his chest. This did not lessen his worries to any extent. In fact, it exacerbated them. He stared at the place where the rose had just been. He felt it with its hand. It felt like normal, pink, fleshy skin. Thank Ionara it doesn't have any feathers on it.

He put a hand on his head. There was something strange going on in his mind. He felt a slight pulling. Not on his body, but on his brain. As if he was in the middle of a desert, and he knew where he could find water and shade. It pulled him towards what he knew was the general direction of the swamp. He let himself fall back on his bed with a thud, closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of his face in a gesture of desperation. Though it had to be late morning by now already, he felt extremely tired and hungry. He ached more than even his fight with Ymre could justify. And he knew, he would have to go and find the women of the swamp.