Читать книгу The Creed of the Archangel - Сара - Страница 3

Remliel cast herself down to Akkolon, careening like a firebolt from the heavens. She crashed into the Sea, making a crater at the bottom of the ocean. She then swam her way back up to the earth and crawled out onto a piece of land later named the Fork of Remliel; where the Northern and Eastern rivers met.

She stood, naked and soaking wet, on the open stretch of land. She wrapped her drenched wings around her body for warmth and protection, and sat down in the fluffy green grass. She snapped her fingers and created a small fire for her to dry off by, and laid down next to it, still huddled up underneath her wings.

Nightfall came quicker than Remliel expected, and she kept the fire going throughout the darkness. She watched the moon rise from the West, looked up into the stars, and for a moment, she could almost see her sleeping mother in the Emptiness. She did not tire, since she had not spent much of her energy, so she lied awake for the night. When the sun began to rise from the North, she stood, extinguished her fire, stretched out her wings, and began to walk toward the Southern Woods.

The journey took her a surprisingly long time; she'd thought the world was a lot bigger than it actually was. From the Universe, she'd looked down upon the world and thought of it as tiny in comparison to what lied around her, but now that she was on the world, she knew that it was large, especially for the creatures that lived there.

Nightfall came once again, with the moon rising from the West. Remliel lied down in the plains that she was crossing; she was about halfway to the woods. She slept that night, her wings carefully tucked around her body like a blanket, protecting her from the cold.

She awoke with the sunrise, and continued her journey to the woods. She didn't need food or water, but she could feel her feet beginning to ache beneath her. She finally reached the Southern Woods at dusk, at the end of her second day of the journey. She stretched out her wings so that they stood up behind her, and she marched into the woods along the dirt path.

She could hear rustling in the trees, and she knew it wasn't the wind. She knew that there was a kingdom of Elves that dwelled in this forest, and she figured that there were Elven spies in the trees, watching her every move. Suddenly, faster than Remliel could even blink, there was a small group of Elves in front of her on the path.

She stopped, looking down on the majestic creatures. Their silver hair all went down to their torsos, their golden robes shined even without sunlight, and their light blue irises sparkled. One Elf walked forward, outstretching their hands. “You are not from the world of Akkolon. You have come to answer our prayers?”

Remliel nodded, surprised she understood their language. “I am an Archangel. One of two.”

“We know of your brother and the destruction he has caused,” the Elf said. “You've come to stop him?”

“I've seen it. I have come to do what I must.”

“Then we welcome you. Your name?”

“Remliel.”

“Here, Remliel, take these robes.”

Another Elf walked forward and handed the Archangel a golden robe to match theirs. It shimmered as it was placed into her hands, and the fabric was light and soft. Remliel knew she was much larger than the creatures of Akkolon, since she was Divine, so she shrunk herself down to the height of the Elves. She hid her wings from sight and mind, appearing only with brown hair that matched the length of the Elves and her white eyes.

She put the robe on, thankful for the warmth of the fabric on her still naked body. The Elf that had spoken to her before stretched his arm to gesture down the path, and the group of Elves began to lead Remliel through the woods.

“Our King and Queen will be thrilled to meet you,” the Elf said, walking next to the Archangel.

“What is your name?”

“Taylodrin.”

“That is a fine name.”

They walked in silence until the dirt path began to turn to cobblestone. The sound of a fountain fluttered in the distance, along with the harmonious singing of Elves and the laughter of children. The group of Elves led Remliel through a village, with sizable houses made of wood. There were two rows of houses with about five yards between them, and they made a circle around a large fountain made of quartz. Water poured out of the top of the fountain and gathered into a rather wide basin at the bottom. The water poured out of a column with the shape of the sun at the top. There were a few buildings scattered around the village, like an inn, a pub, and a few small shops.

Elven women were washing different colored robes in the basin of the fountain, humming and singing together. When they saw the golden-clad Elves leading the Archangel through the city, they stopped their washing, stood, and bowed until they completely passed. They then turned and went back to their chores.

“What do the colored robes mean?” Remliel asked Taylodrin.

“We wear gold because we serve the King and Queen,” the Elf replied. “Since the sun is sacred to us, gold represents the color of the sun's light. The King and Queen wear white to show that they're pure and royal. The different townspeople wear colors to represent their family's jobs and status. Purple is the highest, then blue, then brown. Those who wear brown work in our crop fields and help feed the entire kingdom. They're also shopkeepers and such. Those who wear blue are soldiers, and those who wear purple are the knights, generals, and High Elders."

Remliel nodded in appreciation. “Are all Elven kingdoms the same?” she asked.

“As far as I know.”

“And this isn't the only village you have, is it?”

“It is. We have a few browns that live near or on the fields they work on, but other than that, we all live here. There are more houses a few miles away from here, but they're considered to be a part of this village.”

Up ahead, to the East, there was the silhouette of a large building. “What's that?” the Archangel asked, pointing.

“You'll see tomorrow," Taylodrin answered. For now, we all must get our rest. We will stay at the inn here in the village.”

The Elves led her to one of the scattered buildings, and upon entering, she felt as if she were intruding into someone's home. There was a front desk with an Elf standing behind it in brown robes. He smiled at the visitors, then bowed reverently. Behind him, there were about 30 crevices with small numbers engraved above them. To the right and left were two staircases that led up. “What can I do for you, servants of the royalty?” the Elf behind the desk asked. He rose from his bow.

“We need a room for our guest, Remliel,” Taylodrin said, gently pulling the Archangel forward. The brown Elf nodded and turned happily behind him, grabbing something from crevice number three.

“Your room will be up the right staircase, third door on the left,” the brown Elf said. He handed her a small iron ring with a wooden “3” hanging from it.

Remliel thanked him and looked unsurely at Taylodrin.

“We'll be back for you tomorrow morning," the Elf said. "Rest well, Remliel.”

The Archangel climbed the stairs, lifting the robes up from her ankles so that she wouldn't trip over the long fabric. She entered the room and was taken aback by the beauty of it. There was a queen-sized bed on the right wall, a bay window right across from the door, and a large fireplace on the left wall. To the right of the fireplace, there was a door leading to a small room with a wash basin and waste bucket, which was surprisingly clean. On the wall adjacent to the door there was a small wardrobe that could hold up to a weeks worth of clothes. On a shelf in the wardrobe, there were three or four soft, white towels folded neatly.

Remliel closed the door behind her, isolating her in the grand room. She went into to the small adjacent room and stripped out of the golden robe, filled the basin up with water from the tap that was attached, and picked up a bar of soap that was resting on the edge of the tub. She dipped the robe into the water and scrubbed it with the soap, making sure to rid it of any dirt from her journey to the inn. She then drained the water and refilled the tub, stepping in and bathing herself. She allowed her wings to come forth and she massaged them with the soap. She felt the tension in the wing muscles relax as she softly rubbed them. Dead feathers fell into the water, and she felt renewed.

When she was done with her bath, she once again drained the tub and walked over to the wardrobe and retrieved a towel. She patted her wings dry, then her body, and crawled into bed. It was more comfortable than she'd thought it would be, and once her head hit the pillows, she realized how tired she was from her day's journey. She fell asleep, dreaming of nothing but darkness, and slept soundly until morning.

****

The next day, she was awoken by a soft knock on the door. “Remliel?” a voice asked.

She groggily answered. “Come in!”

The Elf from the front desk, still dressed in brown robes, entered the room. He saw the white towel and golden robe on the ground, and then his eyes turned to the bed. There, Remliel was sitting up, holding the blankets up to her chest so that she was covered from the stranger's sight. Her wings rested softly behind her.

“I was just here to help you clean up the room and bring you some breakfast," the Elf said. He stared at her wings for a moment before he asked, “You're not an Elf? I mean, I thought you weren't last night, since your hair is brown and your eyes are white, but I figured maybe you were just from another realm… what are you?"

“I'm an Archangel,” Remliel answered kindly. “I'm one of two. My brother has made chaos on this world, and I've come to do whatever is in my power to stop him.”

The Elf released a breath as he picked up the towel and robe. “You know, these robes are very important to us Elves,” he said, draping the golden fabric over the end of the bed. “It's part of who we are.”

“I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to disrespect-”

“Oh, don't worry about it! You're Divine, how could you know?”

The Elf threw the towel over his shoulder and shuffled out of the room. He re-entered a few seconds later with a tray, and on it, a plate and a cup. The plate had an egg, two sausage links, and an apple, and the cup was filled with water. “I hope you enjoy,” he said. “Everything was raised on our village's farm, and the apple came from our orchard."

“Thank you,” Remliel said, smiling. “I'm sure it will be amazing.”

The Elf smiled and placed the tray on the end of the bed. He then left, softly closing the door behind him.

Remliel let the blankets drop, and she reached over and dragged the tray toward her. She ate, even though she didn't need to, and as she bit into the meat and egg, she let herself taste the goodness of the molecules. She finished the apple, leaving the core on the plate, and she drank all of the water before getting up and making the bed. She once again hid her wings, and carefully picked up the robe. She draped it over her body, tying it closed and leaving the room.

She made it back down to the lobby of the inn to see the same group of Elves from the day before, standing in their shining golden robes, waiting for her. “You look well rested,” Taylodrin said, smiling. Remliel returned the metal ring with the “3” to the brown Elf behind the desk, thanked him again for the room and breakfast, and went off with the group of golden Elves.

She walked out into the town square and looked up at the treetops. They were around 100 feet up in the air, creating a canopy of protection above the small village. The sun's rays pierced through the leaves, and the Elves hummed and sang to themselves as they went about the day's activities. Remliel noticed there were no men in the village, only women and children. She turned the Taylodrin and inquired about it.

They began to walk as he answered her. “The men are all working. They come home when the sun sets. The women stay at home raising and teaching the children, washing, cleaning, and so on."

Remliel nodded and payed attention to the cobblestone path. They gradually made their way up to the large building she'd seen the night before, and as they neared it, she realized it was a palace.

They arrived at midday, when the sun was in the middle of the sky. The Elves all stopped walking and knelt, craning their necks up to face the sun. They began to sing together, lifting their hands up to the sky. This went on for a few minutes before they ended their song and stood. “I apologize,” Taylodrin said to the Archangel. “That is our daily prayer to the sun.”

“Don't be sorry, it was beautiful.”

The Elves then led her up to the palace, which was made of emeralds, diamonds, and quartz. Two Elves, who were wearing purple robes, opened the large iron doors of the palace, and the group of golden Elves led Remliel inside. Upon entering, the Archangel was in a wide corridor with two smaller iron doors on each side of her. “Those doors lead to the servant's quarters,” Taylodrin commented. Remliel looked forward and saw three different halls, which all forked off of the same wide corridor that she stood in. Taylodrin pointed at each hall and told the Archangel where they went. “The hall on the left forks off into another passage, which leads to the quarters of the servants that work closer with the royalty. At the end of the left hall, there's a staircase to go upstairs to where the royalty sleeps and lives. The middle hall leads to the throne room. Finally, the right hall has many other corridors branching off of it, all of which lead to soldier's living spaces."

The group of golden Elves branched off from each other, going off to do other tasks. Taylodrin stayed with Remliel, walking with her down the middle hall toward the throne room. The walls of the middle corridor were made of glass, and the Archangel could see out into the courtyards on either side of the hall. At the end of the passageway was the throne room. There were two large doors made of rubies, emeralds, and diamond, and two purple Elves stood guard. When they saw Remliel and the golden Elf approaching, they opened the doors, and the Archangel entered the throne room.

There were two golden thrones before her, with the King on the left and the Queen on the right. They both wore white clothes with white capes draped over their shoulders. Their crowns were both made of gold. The room was made of diamond, which sparkled in the sunlight from the treetops. There were two windows on the left and right walls of the throne room, where Remliel could once again see the empty courtyards that surrounded them.

The King held a golden scepter in his right hand, and when Remliel entered, he stood. The Queen followed suit. Taylodrin knelt on one knee before the royalty, and Remliel quickly did the same. “I present the Archangel Remliel, Your Majesties.”

“You may rise, Remliel," the Queen said. She did as she was told. “Somehow, I imagined you to look different.”

“I've altered my appearance, Your Majesty, so as to not frighten anyone,” the Archangel replied.

“I see you come in peace. Word has reached my ears that you have come to destroy your brother, Tetrasiel. Is this true?”

“Yes, in any way I can."

“Then you have the Southern Realm as your allies. We will provide you with and army if you should ever need one; our soldiers are very powerful."

“We will also provide you with some provisions for your journey,” the King chimed in. “We will have a tailor make you some clothes, a blacksmith make you some armor, and we will give you a protective cloak and some food.”

“Thank you, Your Majesties,” the Archangel replied, bowing out of respect. “Your gifts are much appreciated.”

They were dismissed from the throne room, and Taylodrin led Remliel down the right hall into a door on the left, almost all the way down the hall. There, Remliel was stripped of her golden robe, measured, and told to appear in her true form. She did, and she was measured again. She shrunk back down when they were finished, hiding her wings, and she shyly put the robe back on. One of the brown Elves that was serving her informed her that her clothes and armor would be ready in a few hours. “The blacksmith will also make you a sword for battle,” one of the brown Elves said.

Remliel thanked them, then left with Taylodrin. He led her out of the palace and into one of the courtyards. There, the Archangel relaxed on a bench, looking around at the beautiful nature. There were small berry bushes lining the perimeter of the courtyard, and a few saplings dotted across the lawn. The grass was long, with red and white mushrooms poking up in a few places. The bench that Remliel sat on was made of wooden logs, and there was a cobblestone circle in the middle of the courtyard where the sun's light fell perfectly throughout the day. Birds chirped from the branches of the saplings, there were various insects crawling along the grass, and a brown bunny inched its way out from the underbrush of the bushes.

Remliel stayed in the courtyard until her clothes and weaponry was done being made. When she went back inside to try it on, she found that everything she wore grew with her when she was in her true form, and it shrunk back down with her as well. “That's thanks to some Elven magic,” Taylodrin commented as they left the small room and strolled down the right hall toward the doors of the palace. Remilel no longer wore her golden robe; she had instead a pair of brown trousers with an off-white rope belt, a white shirt that had a V-neck cut, and black boots. She had draped around her shoulders a hooded, forest-green cloak.

Upon exiting the palace, Taylodrin continued to walk with Remliel until they reached the small village that she'd spent the night in just 20 hours before. The Elf led Remliel into a small building that looked very similar to the inn from the outside. On the inside, there was a brown Elf sitting behind a desk. Behind him, the walls were lined with different papers in stands, advertising products that were for sale. “Good evening, good sir,” Taylodrin said, getting the Elf's attention. “We are looking for some provisions for a long journey. What can you give us?”

“Well, good servant of the Royalty, I have dried meats, cheeses, bread… whatever you need!”

Remliel stepped forward. “I'll have a few pieces of dried meat, a few pieces of cheese, and a single loaf of bread. I'd also like to purchase a flask of water.”

The brown Elf retrieved these things for her, putting them all neatly into a black satchel. He handed the satchel to her, and Taylodrin payed with golden and silver coins. The brown Elf wished them well, and they left the store.

It was nightfall when they stepped out into the town. The Archangel didn't wish to sleep, for she didn't need it unless she'd spent a lot of her energy. So, Taylodrin walked her down the same path she'd entered on. She watched the cobblestone slowly turn into dirt, and finally, they reached the edge of the woods. “I included a map in your satchel,” the Elf said kindly. “Just in case you might need it.”

“You've been a great host to me, Taylodrin,” Remliel said, smiling and placing a hand on his shoulder. “I'm very grateful to call you an ally.”

“I am grateful as well,” the Elf responded. “Have a safe journey, Remliel. Remember, the Southern Woods will always be a home to you.”

At that, the Archangel parted from the Elf. She walked a few yards before turning back to take one last look at the woods. She turned her gaze to the path, but Taylodrin was nowhere to be seen. She smiled to herself and pulled out the map, looking at the handwriting of the Elves. She saw a signature in the bottom right-hand corner: Taylodrin's.

She looked up from the map, then back down. She figured she needed to head North toward the Kingdom of Iqocan next. So, she summoned her wings, which stretched far above her head in their majestic, golden splendor. She flapped them a couple of times to wake up the muscles, then lifted herself up into the air. She swooped up and down, happy to be flying for the first time. Finally, she rushed North, her cloak flying in the air behind her, tied around her neck with nothing but a small white rope.

She reached the border of the Kingdom of Iqocan at sunrise. The gates to the main city faced the South, away from the sunrise, whereas she recalled the Elven path facing the North. “It's because they worshipped the sun,” Remliel recalled aloud.

The Archangel looked at the city from the sky. She saw a grand, white palace in the center of the village, and the buildings got smaller and more separated as they furthered from the castle. She saw a single road from the front gate that branched off into a few smaller paths. This single road led all the way up to the palace, which stood on elevated ground above the rest of the city. The road was lined with small shops and stands, where the merchants sold their wares. Behind the palace, there were only a few rows of houses that were very spread apart, then there was a large, wide field full of various crops. The palace was separated from the city by a moat, and there was a circular guard wall around the palace itself. Inside the walls of the tower, there were three small buildings.

Remliel sighed, then lowered herself to the ground. She hid her wings and walked up to the front gate, declaring herself. “I come in peace," she yelled, hoping someone would hear her. “I wish to speak to your King!”

The gates, tall and made out of splintered wood that matched that of the wall, opened for her. She saw two guards standing on the opposite side of the gate, presumably the ones who had let her in. She didn't know why, but she felt nervous going into the kingdom of Men. She wondered if they'd be as friendly and caring as the Elves. She walked through the rickety gate, realizing that it silently closed behind her.