ROTU: Chapter Thirty-Nine

From within Earth's Inner Realms, Kafele leaned casually against the largest tree on Earth. Green and gold light flooded and pulsed within its trunk as golden orange light aligned the edge of the tree's enormous leaves and amplified its glow.

Kafele straightened and gazed upward into the branches, which instantly brightened more with a blinding silver and gold light. His eyes lit with a similar glow as he spread his arms out wide and smiled.

***

On the surface, Drasúl stopped in the middle of the clearing as thunder crashed through the clouds and rain fell. Wolves emerged from the trees and slowly swarmed the clearing from every angle, their eyes locked on Drasúl. Leading at the front of the pack was Haku.

Drisana and the others in the group backed away from the trees, moving closer to Kaelon and Jalena, the shield around them now gone.

"They won't hurt you," Aeilah said as the wolves advanced further into the clearing and flew past them in a rush to encircle Drasúl.

Haku snarled and lowered her stance, then leaped for Drasúl's throat.

The group watched wide-eyed at the scene before them.

Drasúl's expression hardened as his eyes lit up. He shot a crimson blade at Haku and spun to do the same as her team moved in closer.

Haku dropped with a loud whine as one of the blades pierced her chest and her body immediately stilled.

A boom reverberated through the clearing as Elindrel arrived on the scene in a flash of light. He stood behind the transparent veil that separated his dimension from that of the surface and watched in silent fury as Haku's breath left her body. He stretched out one hand, palm up toward the wolf. Soft white glittering light swirled through the air and into Haku's wound. Drasúl's blade disintegrated, and the poisoned smoke embedded in the blade drifted out from Haku, lingering in the air.

Drasúl, with flames now ignited around him to protect him from the wolves, watched with a narrowed gaze as Haku's wound sealed. His brow furrowed as he studied the seemingly empty space before him in an attempt to gauge the source of the magic.

Elindrel met his stare from where he stood on the other side of the veil. He remained patient as he studied Drasúl's energy, scanning his mind and the darkness within. Elindrel's eyes remained on Drasúl's face as he quickly closed his open palm into a fist.

Drasúl's eyes suddenly widened. He moved his head just in time to avoid his own blade, which had reformed above Haku and sailed back at him at surprising speed. He stepped forward in fury as he touched where the blade had skimmed his ear, his eyes searching hard once more for his attacker. Elindrel remained behind the veil, continuing to study Drasúl with a look of contempt. Drasúl glanced around as the nearest set of wolves rushed him. With a scowl, he teleported from sight.

Haku stood and shook her body, then trotted quickly to Jalena. She nudged Jalena's body with her nose and licked her face then slowly lowered herself to the ground with a whimper.

The ground began to shake and crack beneath Jalena. A golden orange glow spread through the cracks as the surrounding grass grew into a cradle around her.

Kaelon stood and backed away slowly as he watched the scene before him, his eyebrows raised. Loud chimes rang about the area, increasing in pitch.

The remaining team members looked around in confusion as the rest of the wolves moved back into the trees. Aeilah ran from the group as a set of butterflies appeared and led her into the trees with the wolves.

"Aeilah!" Sitara called.

"She is okay," a voice called out from behind her.

Soosian walked out from the trees. "Gildan is taking her to the train with us—the rest of the Glisayas."

Drisana jerked her head to the side in surprise as Silso fluttered and landed on her shoulder. He patted her face with his tiny hand and nodded.

Those in the group stared at Soosian and Silso in shocked silence.

"Unbelievable," Sitara whispered as her gaze flitted between the two.

Soosian smiled. "I take it from your expressions that you have never encountered a Glisaya before. I am Soosian, in charge of Wind Elements. I would naturally wipe your memories of me, but I think," she raised an eyebrow, "for this group, it would be okay if you remember." She laughed lightly, looked sharply to the side, and then back down to Jalena. "All is well, humans." She gave them a small wave, and she and Silso disappeared in a flash.

Kaelon turned his gaze up in curiosity as he noted a large owl land on a high branch of the tree nearest Jalena. It hooted and clicked its beak as it watched Jalena closely.

"All is well?" Sitara said in exasperation. She threw up her hands and looked around the area as the wind increased. "Then you leave?" she yelled.

She looked at Shamira, who still lay unconscious, and back to Jalena's lifeless body. Tears filled her eyes. "What are we supposed to do now? Hello? All you weird fucking species on the planet just popping in and out, Aeilah's disappeared, and now the ground is acting like it is gonna swallow Jalena! We need help!"

Everyone turned as a vacuum of bright gold light appeared at the western edge of the clearing, stretching to reveal a diamond-shaped swirling gateway. Out stepped Tau and Nyhra.

Tau scanned the area as other Lumaña filed into the clearing behind him. He noted Jalena on the ground and his brow furrowed as he watched the cradle of vines swarming her.

Nyhra gasped and moved to go to Jalena, but Tau stretched out his hand.

"Wait," he said. "Something is—" He looked to the sky as the rain increased and the ground shook harder.

Nyhra turned to Shamira and dropped down beside her. Her eyes and hands lit up as she placed them over Shamira's wounds.

A Lumaña warrior used his staff to form a dome of amber light over the group as a shield from the rain.

The group stared at Jalena in confusion as more vines wrapped around her body and lit up with a pulsing green and gold glow…

***

Jalena blinked several times as the white light that had just absorbed her, dimmed. She narrowed her eyes in caution as her surroundings came into focus. She looked down at her body in a panic and ran a hand over her clothing, which was clear of any rips or wounds.

Wondering if she had teleported instinctively, she searched the area for any clue as to where she was. The mountainous area was foreign to her, although similar to where she had been just moments before. A field of blue flowers amid soft grass bordered the large trees around the area. The air held a warm and gentle breeze.

She paced the area as memories of the previous moments surfaced. Shamira...No, I need to get back…I can't leave them unprotected… She started walking hurriedly through the trees.

Easy there, a deep voice called out. You can't get back there by traveling a physical path.

Jalena froze and then whipped around, her face breaking into a large smile.

Malik appeared before her, walking out from the trees, in a long white cloak, glowing as bright as a star. He laughed as she ran and threw herself against him.

As he wrapped his arms around her, she closed her eyes and allowed relieving tears to fall. She inhaled deeply as she released him and grabbed his forearms. "I can't believe I can touch you."

"Questions?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Besides where the hell am I, and how do I get back? You know there always are many..."

"You are near the same area, just in between realms, so I am able to meet you here." He gestured for her to sit on a nearby boulder. "Don't worry," he said when he saw her concerned expression. "Time does not exist here."

"I saw him, Malik," Jalena said as she sat. "I saw Gyan behind the shield I placed over Kaelon and then he faded. Tell me why."

"When we are in a state of inevitable transition, our deepest desires create what we wish in an instant. This desire and focus determines how you interpret the reality before you."

"So, it was a trick of my mind?" She stood and started pacing. "Okay, I can accept that, but why did my Reserve close as soon as I moved to protect him?"

"Your core energy always knows the steps of what is to come. To preserve some of your life force so that you could meet me here, it withdrew back into your core right before Drasúl's attack."

"But the shield—I meant to cast it around us both, but it did not extend around me."

Malik smiled. "You called him, Gyan, Jalena—again without realizing it. Think of the difference in who you were on Elsaria—guarded in your relationship with Gyan—and who you are now. What do you believe woke your power when you came into contact with Kaelon?"

"His similarities to Gyan," she nodded, "but that doesn't explain…" She plopped back down on the boulder as realization dawned. "I gave up myself to protect him as Gyan did for me—for all of us."

"Exactly. Kaelon served as a means for you to not only awaken your power again but also as a way to return the love and sacrifice your twin made. He was the avenue to fulfill your desire to return the Shanlo burden that Gyan harbored for you."

"But, it wasn't returned to Gyan."

"It matters not," Malik said after a slight pause. "To give all of who you are for the sake of authentic love is never a loss, Jalena, but a gift from the soul. It is returned where, when, and to who it was supposed to be. You know the act is authentic because it is done without thought or hesitation. This act will surpass all understanding and bounds of what we believe to be true.

"With your choice to open your heart and yield all that you are to help others as you did for Kaelon, you have evolved in the revelation of who you are—beyond any former perceived boundaries—and in that moment, you are therefore whole, capable of expanding skill and knowledge far beyond where it stood before."

Jalena smiled, feeling for a moment as if she was back in class. "What good has it done though if I am here rather than there? Why do I feel as if it is not done?"

"Because it is not."

"I know my body died by Drasúl's hand. Without Shamira's help to heal, I…"

"Logic is effective for creating a path, Jalena, but not always for answering questions of the heart or the will of energy." He chuckled. "Do you forget so easily who you are? You carry a flame of the Earth within you that cannot be put out by normal means…which may delight or disappoint Drasúl in the end," he pondered aloud with a gleam in his eye. "As Lunara stated, you carry the equivalent of the light of the stars within you, which makes your blood harbor the power of a Mysteis, and Drasúl's blade did not contain moonfire.

"Yielding, as I have cleverly taught you," he pointed a finger to the sky, "is where all power lies." An amused smile across his face as he raised his eyebrows. "As you are now in a complete state of surrender to the passion and love within you, you have placed yourself in a mode of receptivity to accept the gifts the Earth eagerly wishes to grant you. Just as you have given yourself to protect what lies within your heart, the Earth will also protect the one that carries the key to its own."

Jalena's eyes widened as pain filled her chest and spread through her body. A bright gold and green light swirled through her vision. "Malik," she whispered as heat spread through her. "What is this—?"

"Transformation," he said simply. "From your state of yielding, you have been released from your current physical condition to expand to a greater one."

Jalena gasped as a powerful force slammed into her chest. She placed a hand over her racing heart as she fell backward.

Malik held up his hand as white light filled her gaze. "Until next time. Do not forget that I am always with you, my Light Queen."

In the clearing near headquarters, where her body still lay in the cocoon of vines, Jalena gasped aloud as light surfaced in her body. A swirl of gold and green spun within her gaze as her eyes opened wide.

Kaelon quickly knelt to grab her arm as the glow of the vines around Jalena brightened. The shaking of the ground quietened to a fading rumble as Jalena's eyes closed once more, and the vines retracted.

Haku stood and nudged Jalena's face with her nose.

Nyhra quickly moved next to Kaelon to check Jalena's pulse. "She's breathing," she reassured the others. She smiled as she rested her other hand on Haku's side as the wolf's tail wagged.

Kaelon's expression filled with relief. He took Jalena's hand with his good arm and closed his eyes as he brought it to his face.

Haku licked Kaelon's face several times and then trotted back into the trees.

Tau studied the group of humans around him, his eyes lingering on Kaelon.

"What do we do with them?" Oba asked. "Leave them?"

"They come with us."