Dawn of the Nephilim

15. A new beginning part II

"Please let me see your hands Ronan" Eloï'inda said as she extended two seemingly perfectly manicured hands towards him. Warily, he extended his hands towards her, surprising himself that he didn't put up more of a fight. Perhaps at some level of awareness, he realized that he was in way over his head, and that if any type of solution were to offer itself, it would have to come from this island. As she took his hands in hers, they felt warm and soft. He felt his resolve starting to break down again, and wondered once more if that was really his own doing. Actually, he was rather certain that something weird was up with his emotions, which made him all the more uncertain about his situation. Then something weird occurred to him. Even though he was here, he still felt that tingling sensation inside of his mind, pulling at his head as strong as ever. He looked into the direction of the tingle, and immediately forgot all about Eloï'inda.

For there in front of him, lay one he had never seen, yet knew intimately. "Tiar'Mara." The bitter name felt like honey on his tongue, and the concerning irresoluteness of his distrust was amplified manifold, as he felt that there would be no point resisting the attraction and sympathy he felt towards her. It was curious he hadn't noticed her before, but he clearly saw her now. She was in her face like Eloï'Inda, but not. He couldn't very well also call her face perfect, as that would render the term meaningless. He decided that after all, he just didn't know what perfection was. In any case, Tiar'mara's face and skin were likewise smooth and harmonious, but her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be asleep. Over her, there lay a curtain of sadness, mayhap even decrepitude. He remembered the burning city with the giant figure, and the giant that had attacked him on the plains of his dreams. And he knew, that these dreams were somehow related to her grief. The moment he lay eyes on her, he felt the tingle in his mind disappear. She appeared to be deadly ill.

"Yes, look at her Ronan." His eyes were drawn back to those of Eloï'Inda. They shone with a sad, faded blue. "As far as I've been able to ascertain, you must have immersed your consciousness in hers like water in a sponge. Then you ripped it out and somehow evaded being torn apart, leaving the two of you intertwined as so many pieces of corded rope. You established that connection without her consent, and made it so complex and dangerous as to maybe be permanent. It was not up to you to decide that you could. I do not even understand how it happened. I have rarely heard of anyone being able to establish anything remotely like this binding without the other's consent." His gaze was trapped in hers while she was talking, and she still held his hands in a soft grip. A strange, calming sensation seemed to flow into him by way of his arms. She might be enchanting him. He dared not pull them free. "I can only guess that it must have occurred because of her current... condition. She was in no position to resist. And only one that does not understand what the consequences of his behavior are can immerse himself so completely and without restrain as you have done. Still, I don't know what God you pray to, but I can assure you that according to the natural order of things you should no longer be. I almost wonder if she herself hasn't..."

Breaking off, she glanced at Tiar'Mara, let go of his hands and hugged herself as if she were cold. She half turned away from him. "You will have to make amends to Tiar'Mara if she wakes up. I do not know how she will react. I myself do not know whether to be angry at you. As you can see, she is gravely injured. You took upon yourself some of her battle, albeit unknowingly. Without that, she would probably be dead already." She turned around again and faced him. "But you must understand, when she dies, you shall die as well. You are too intertwined with her to survive such a loss, Ronan Jack's son. As the situation is, you might sooner live without a skeleton. At the same time, the metaphor of the rope that I used was not haphazardly chosen. What is connected might become stronger than its separate parts, should they turn out to be compatible. I know nothing for certain. Where this thing might lead to now, only time will tell."

Ronan found himself at a loss for words. Without her consent? What about mine? And I die when she dies? His head felt like a whirlpool, with every thought sucking him in deeper, closing in on a terrible abyss. Still Eloï'inda continued her relentless litany. "I have never come across something like this. Never. An unknowing human connected to a Graie that is barely holding onto life. It is new to the world. And all that is new to the world is bound to attract attention. You do not understand much at this point, only the little things that came to you in your dreams. Terrible things are afoot in the world; tremendous powers are colliding. How can you make any step that could count as being remotely informed in such circumstances?"

She trailed off and stared into the distance a while. The soft lapping of the river waves mingled with the rustling of the overbrush. The world smelled of water and earth, with perhaps a pinch of mystery, of purple moons and hidden stars. It was his world, he knew how to live in it. But perhaps she was right, and he didn't know as much about it as he had always thought. Books can only teach you so much – they are like lights that in their illumination hide all that they don't shine upon. Then she continued.

"I have been thinking these last few days. I will not force you to stay, but will give you one chance to leave now, directly, at this point. It is clear to me that you don't trust me as things stand, and perhaps rightly so, but still I urge you for your own sake to stay. What will likely happen when you leave, is that both you and Tiar'Mara die, but nothing that is obtained by mere forcing is of lasting value." He felt the sting of that last remark. "If you do stay Ronan, there is no going back. I will tell you of the world in ways you haven't known, nor perhaps imagined. I will tell you what we are, why we are here, and what you have become. It may frighten you; but you will then have to conquer your fear to become whatever fate has in store. The choice is yours."