Strings of Jade

I stand in front of a high ravine, giving way to a river. This is the boundary we have to cross before Wartis. Though it is highly unlikely to find a high cliff adjacent to a huge bay, Kashil has a way of doing, or finding the unthinkable. 

'How do we..?' I ask, seeing there is no boat or bridge. I glance at the cliff for handholds. There are none. Good, no climbing. And the river has many rocks in its course, so no swimming, too. 

Ilia glances at the ravine, and back to me. She says nonchalantly, 'We jump.' Surely, I thought, she is joking. Though banter isn't exactly her forte, she might be lightening the mood. But she moves, steady as ever, towards the ravine, and brushes her feet to the ground. No. No, no no, I thought.

I run and tug at the hem of the her low dress, bare and white, hardly worthy of praise. 'Stop' I say.

'Let go, idiot. We do not have time to cower.' she says, slowly but sternly. 

'No. You cannot. I forbid you' I blurt. I forbid her? I have spoke on a whim. She scoffs and hits my hand from her dress. 'Do you think I am a fool?' she asks. Yes, yes you are. I shake my head anyways. 'Well, then of course I won't really jump from here to the other side. If you paid attention to your lessons back in Daemesworth, you might have noticed that this river, the River of the Tormented, is said to open way for a person ready to undertake torment for the sake of getting to the other side.'

Of course I had. But it was mythology. Mere stories, to entertain a child. If it were real, it would only open to gods anyways. 'But I am not a god.' I say. She makes a face. 

'Of course you are not. Who says you have to be one to make the river submit to you? All you need is will. Will to undertake a task so great that you can even risk your life for it. Risk falling into the ravine and crushing your bones, and never find peace, for who die here, are wanderers for eternity.'

It was her way of speaking, maybe. So regal and calm and luminous. I nod slowly. 'So, Jasper' she takes my name for the first time. 'Are you ready to be tormented?' Yes. Yes. I am ready to die than to be back in the House. Than to be haunted by the Priest's ghost for the rest of my every breathing moment. Yes, I say. Of course.

'Then hold my hand' She says, extending her arm.

I have never seem magic. I do not know what it looks like or feels like, to be surrounded by something so much bigger than you. To be obliged by that something that is greater than you itself. For it gives way to you. You of all people. It makes you feel chosen, and mystified. It makes you feel you, you. This is magic, I thought. It cannot be anything else. 

The river parted from the middle, the water sinks in. The depression in the ground gives way to breeze, gentle and sure. She takes my hand. 'Be ready to be tormented'

I close my eyes and allow myself to be lead by her. 

Her feet are light, her movements ceaseless. She walks on air as if a god. The breeze softens and harshens on her command, anyway her gait varies. Beneath me is the river. I am being dragged along with her. She moves easily while I am just dizzy. 

In the end, her feet touch the cool grass of the other side. I almost loose my balance. I forgot what it feels to have a plane under you, supporting you.

My eyes finally focus and I look up to see her smiling. 'Welcome to Wartis.' 

The bay can be seen from a distance. It meets the orange horizon, as the sun sinks. The water has a greenish hue and seems impenetrable. Unending. Just across it you can see the faint skyline of Kashil. 'Where are the settlements?' I ask. 

'Hidden' she says. She runs towards the wall of a mountain, ready to shatter herself. I run after her. This time, I will be with her, I will trust her. A burden lifts over me and I open my eyes to a citadel. So beautiful and full of life that it seems like it was built yesterday. Vibrant and noisy, but I don't care, the noise is fine. Suddenly, I am pulled to an alleyway. 

'Look' says Ilia ' a dress.' She holds up a beautiful green dress, with raised gold embroidery. 'It would look nice on you' I say. 

'What? No, it's for you.'