Chapter 95: Davy’s Story – From Penumbra to Light: You almost died!

Nothing can live for ever in the dark core of a shadow, the Umbra.

Sooner or later, it will seek the partial illumination of the Penumbra where all you need is faith. Faith in what you are given.

But to live in the Light? To survive there, exposed for all to see, you must have absolute belief in your own abilities, and in those who stand beside you.

Awakening the Flame - SolDiri Teachings

|Location: The Ringtail Planet|

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Davy moved towards the blue fragment, drawn forward as if by an unseen force. But this time as he reached out it dodged to the side. He tried again but the mote remained elusive.

“Hmm, it doesn't want me. Rebecca, you try.” Davy was disappointed but amused at the same time.

She hesitated for a moment, and the mote remained still, until her hand got near.

Then it seemed to leap onto it and slowly sank into her palm.

Blue light and a cold tingle radiated up her arm and, as it was about to go to her head, she raised the other hand, touching the radiant energy at her neck. The light forked, jumping across to her free hand while continuing its slow advance over her shoulders.

 

When the glow faded, Rebecca slumped, collapsing to the floor. Her fur no longer shone but across her arms, intricate blue spirals wove and twisted; alive and shifting with a seething intensity, reminiscent of the Void Spiral.

 

Becson was first to her side and, avoiding the bright light, gently touched her neck, feeling a pulse. He nodded, “She's alive but weak.”

“I’m not surprised,” said Davy, “She’s a tough nut.”

He approached Rebecca, sat beside her, lifted her head and gently placed it in his lap. As Davy stroked the fur around her top knot, his mote flared. He focused on its energy, guiding it towards her, restoring balance. Slowly, she came around, dizzy, not sure where she was.

“Are you able to carry her,” he asked Becson, who nodded. “We need to get back to the Bird.”

 

As they traced their steps back to the entrance, Rebecca stirred in Becson’s arms. She ran her fingers along the markings on one arm, watching as they rippled beneath her touch.

“That’s… striking,” she murmured, her mind still fogged.

Then, with a sense of growing clarity, she said, “We can’t leave, not yet. Forces are gathering… their energy is crying out for balance and harmony.”

 

Becson tried to calm his mother, “Rest, we’ll worry about this when we get back to the drey.”

But she grabbed his arm, squeezing hard, “No! There’s one more thing we must do. The motes are talking to us and the glyphs burn brightly, it’s a portent”

Becson shook his head, “You almost died.” And as she smiled back, he added, “And you want to stay here?”

She nodded, “Yes. It’s important, there’s too much chaos and imbalance here. We’ve missed something. Something important.” She pointed, “This way.”

 

Rebecca asked Becson to put her down, feeling strong enough to stand.

 

She approached the door she’d pointed at. A glyph with fragmented edges appeared and began to pulsate with a red glow.

She gasped, “We’ve seen this before. It was in the other room where we found the crystal fragment.”

“The fragment that burnt all those fancy markings into your arm?” said Nix, her grin full of mischief. Rebecca smiled back and nodded; she actually liked them.

“It’s the Fractured Star,” said Davy, “a warnin’ of imbalance or impending chaos.”

Rebecca smiled. “He remembers his lessons.”

“So not good?” added Nix.

“Well, I think we’re about to see,” replied Davy, an agonising pull drawing him closer. “I thought we came this way; how’d we miss it?” he asked.

Rebecca eyes narrowed as she rubbed her palm, the same place the mote has dissolved into. “The fragment is whispering … guiding me.”

“What’s it saying?” asked Davy.

“It’s not like that, not words, it’s like I’ve got a new sense.” She stopped and concentrated, “Pain. Pain and imbalance. That’s what it is, imbalance. I can sense it,” she said, then Rebecca reached up, hesitating for just a moment and touched the flaming glyph.

 

It immediately burnt with increased intensity, and her arms delivered a pulse of blue energy to the glyph, “Interesting, blue is wisdom,” she thought, the pulse reminding her of the calm clarity the fragment seemed to grant her in the other room.

 

Before she could react, motes surged towards her, not in their usual slow trickle but a deluge. They flooded in from walls, floors, through rifts from unseen realms, opened by the Shadow Eclipse, adding strange dimensions to the already brightly lit corridor. They flitted through Rebecca, their buzzing intensity almost overwhelming.

“Here we go again,” said Nix, shielding her eyes. Then shaking her head added, “what could possibly go wrong with this?”

The words had become something of a catch phrase.

 

Davy smiled and gestured for Nix to hold still. The pulses flowing through Rebecca’s arms grew steadily brighter. As if responding to a code, the Fractured Star glyph flared one last time then a small door slowly started to crank open.

Rebecca gasped, “I felt that open.” She said pointing and itching at her arms, trying to understand what had happened to her, and more importantly, how to control it. 

She was frightened and turned to Davy, “I don’t want to become like Big Red.”

“You won’t,” he said pulling her closer. “There is too much goodness in you, and besides, you have me.”

 

Even with the door fully open it was dark inside. A sense of foreboding hung heavy over them, even the motes hung back, waiting.

Davy stepped into the room. The stench hit him first; he recognised the sickly tang of blood and the underlying rot of flesh.

 

Silence hung heavy, broken only by the screams of dying motes, projected directly into his brain.

“What is it?” asked Rebecca seeing Davy reel back.

He was horrified by what he saw. The twisted bodies of reds were piled up in one corner. In the centre of the room, two red motes spun helplessly on the floor, their movement erratic and weak, like flies in their final moments. The motes near Davy hesitated then cautiously entered the room and formed two circles of red light around each of the spinning motes, offering support. Davy’s mote flared, emitting flaming tongues of green energy that licked the walls. Pain and anguish flooded his senses. He stumbled forward, fell into the room.

Nix was quickly by his side and helped him stand. “What could do this?” asked Nix, her voice filled with disbelief. 

Rebecca was the first to speak, her expression dark, “They have passed on; we can only hope to a better place.”

Davy let his anger show, “You may not care for the bodies of your dead but in my culture, this would not be tolerated. It’s beyond wrong!”

Rebecca laid a calming hand on his shoulder, “Do not mistake our ambivalence to death for not caring how we get there. These were living people, and they died horribly. Our culture does not tolerate that either,” she said with feeling.

He nodded agreement. “What can we do for them?”

“For them, nothing. They have already gone, crossed over. But for others yet to die, we can stop this. Yes?” Rebecca then made Diri and when no one responded she shot a questioning look directly at Nix and Becson.

Both made Diri and replied, “Yes!”

 

She then looked at Davy and asked, “Yes?”

He replied immediately making Diri, “Yes! But what has gone on here? It feels so wrong.”

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