The RisingThe Rising Book One The Darkness Series

Chapter 5

Dreamscapes

A new moons time will see the glade

The Ancient One his training aids

As time does pass we work to find

The Light of Life in each our kind

To bring Darkness to its doom

Life to Light must be in bloom

Her heart hurts.

Mira feels so alone and lost. Worse, she doesn't understand what happened to her. To the world. She has been listening at her bedroom door, hearing the people walk by and those outside her window.

She heard every voice, one overlapping another. It seemed so loud, so chaotic in her head. Covering her ears, Mira tried to block out the sound but the harder she tried the louder they got. Squeezing her eyes closed, she screamed in pain and the overhead light burst sending out sparks. The fire in the fireplace roared to life. The entire room shook.

She sunk to her knees curling into a ball holding her head. What was she? What is happening to her? Mira has so many questions and no answers. The only thing she has is fear, of who is was and what is beyond these four walls.

She couldn’t go out there. She might hurt someone. Liem said to tell him when she was ready. When that will be, she couldn’t say. But her time is running out. According to the conversations she overheard, they were packing up getting ready to move the base.

All because of her.

Her power is out of control and she has no idea how to handle it. Despite Liem’s calm demeanor, Mira knows he is as scared of her powers as she is. As is everyone else in the camp.

“Maybe I should stay behind and let them go without me.” Mira grumbled to herself as she leaned back against the door exhausted once again.

“No! It’s not safe for you to go it alone. You’re the key, Mira. You are one of the ones to end the darkness.” Liem spoke in her head. Mira still didn’t understand how he did that.

“I’m a danger to everyone around me. I can’t risk anyone else’s life.” Mira rejects his claim. “I can’t control this… I don’t even know what I am now.”

Knowing her fear is getting the best of her, Liem, calming his own fears, tried to sound encouraging. “You can control it. You have to stay calm though. We don’t want to bring down the house.”

“Exactly why I shouldn’t be around people! I’m a danger! You know it, so does everyone else here!” She argued.

“Who said that to you? It’s not true, Mira. I’m not scared of you.” No matter what he said to convince her, Mira felt his fear.

“You are afraid of me because I have more power than I can handle. Don’t lie to me. I hear your thoughts, Liem. I know how you feel.” She had to admit she was afraid of herself too.

This power is so strong, so vast, it’s like nothing she has ever felt before. And it was addictive. The more she used it, the more she wanted it. The more she wants it, the more she feels out of control.

“ You can handle the power. I know you can. And if you get scared, all you have to do is think about me and you can pull me into your head. I will be here.” Liem waited patiently for his words to sink in. “Are you okay?”

Liem’s ability to pop into her thoughts honesty freaks her out. “What if I was thinking about him in a different way, what if I was fantasizing about him?”

She heard him laugh and slammed the back of her head against the wall. “I don’t mind you thinking of me like that but I’ll be honest and tell you I lost my wife in the Darkness and I’m not ready for that. So let’s just keep that on a back burner, okay?”

“ I didn’t mean that.” There was a long uncomfortable silence between them. “I’m sorry about your wife. Are you sure she’s gone, gone?”

She chastised herself for being stupid enough to think those kinds of thoughts. She can’t do that. She needs to focus on what’s important. If she can find her family, maybe they can help her keep calm. Until then she has to find a way to block herself from others getting into her head. It could be dangerous for that to happen.

“No, Mira. You're not an idiot, you’re human. I’m trying to find your family but I need time.” He has more patience than she does with this new world. “Not really. Are you ready to come out and meet everyone?”

“No!” Her response was panicked. She didn’t want to hurt anyone else. “Can I just have a little longer?”

“Of course you can. Yell when you’re ready. Relax, Mira, you’re safe.” He didn’t ease her mind. She was capable of doing something horrible, that Mira was sure of.

Rubbing her head, she moved in front of the fire. As her breathing and heartbeat leveled out, she discovers she has some kind of control over the flames. Thinking about the flames, Mira focuses her mind on it. The heat, the sound, the smoke. With a breath she could make the flames rise, with an exhale she brought them back down.

It was cool, this new trick. And Mira learned, it was relaxing to play with the fire and watch it burn. This is all so much to believe and disturbing on so many levels.

“How many people are just gone? Was it just the city or the state or all over the world? How did this happen?” Closing her eyes, Mira laid her head back against the bed and listened to the crackling of the wood, and the sizzle of the flames.

She smelled the smoke and sweet smell of fresh cut grass. Mira could feel the soft ground beneath her hands, and the soft breeze mixed with the warmth of the sun on her skin. A bird calls from the trees and a butterfly passes by.

“Wait? This isn’t right! Liem? Liem! Where are you?!” Panic hit Mira as she tried to reach him.

Opening her eyes, Mira knows she’s no longer where she should be. This isn’t her room. The fireplace she was sitting next to is gone. There’s no bed, no walls, no house. Everything is green, a soft bed of grass around in the middle of large trees and a pond. Nothing about this is familiar.

Getting to her feet, Mira steps away from the tree she was leaning against and looks around the meadow.

There is a mist rolling over the water, while small lights, like fireflies, seem to fly all around her. The dark barked trees circle a slow moving creek. The water falls down the rocks into the white froth below. The sound of the water should be loud but it’s not. It’s peaceful, even musical.

Looking around the tree line, she feels like there are eyes everywhere. Watching her closely as Mira moves around the glade. Taking in every detail to memory, she wonders if this is an elaborate dream or an illusion. From the pure white lilies floating on the water, to the owl watching her from a branch above and the cardinal who swoops down from the tree for a closer look, it appears like a fantastical dream.

Everything around Mira is alive. Life is pulsing in the glade, from grass at her feet to the soft buzz of the bees. Her body vibrates with the light energy, restoring her reserves. Mira feels alive, life’s light filling her, absorbing her ss if she can find her purpose here.

The man who emerges from the trees across from her isn’t like anyone she has met before. There’s a calm confidence, an ancient knowledge about him that isn’t something that can be learned but inherent. He doesn’t look super old but he’s wise, she feels that knowledge he holds in him.

His long dark hair and beard reminds Mira of Gandolph from Lord of the Rings but much younger. Draped in a loose blue shirt and dark pants, he has a sword at his hip and a quiver on his back. As if he was stepping out of a book and into her imagination, he looks her up and down as if determining if she’s worthy. Aware of her assessment of him as well, he keeps silent allowing Mira time to collect her thoughts.

His black boots step along the wet grass as he moves closer to her. Pushing his hair back from his eyes, his face comes into full view. The long dark beard and shoulder length brown hair could delude someone to believe he is harmless. Mira knew that wasn’t true. She could feel his power pulsing off of him.

This man exudes power. A kind of serious magicks no one has ever known. The kind that can be dangerous for the person on the receiving end.

Not sensing danger in him, Mira felt protected and safe in his presence. There’s a calmness in the moment that she wasn’t feeling a moment ago. Those flying lights shimmer excitedly around her, cautioning her about him. As if this man is someone who needs to be respected.

Holding his hands up, palms facing her, the breathed in the clean air. His voice is strong as he chants words in a language she shouldn’t know. The language he’s speaking, Mira shouldn’t understand. But she does. She has never heard this language before but she knows it is old Irish he speaks. Just as she knows the spell that he casts.

“On this night, in this hour

Let this child learn lights power.

In every living thing around,

Light is entered and then bound.

Earth and air, water and fire,

Bind the Chosen in light’s pyre.”

The winds swirl around Mira whipping her hair into her face. The lightning flashes across the sky as a mist of soft rain falls down on her head. Suddenly the ground trembles under Mira’s feet and fresh sprouts burst from the soil, young sproutlings reach for the sky just as an explosion of white, yellow, and violet blooms erupts in a circle around her feet.

“Good evening, Emberwing. It is my pleasure to meet you at last. I am Dewin, the Ancient One.” Bowing his head to Mira, Dewin gave her a bow as if she were some form of royalty. Dewin gives no explanation of why he’s here or where we are. Nor does she understand how she got there.

“Hi...” Giving him a hesitant wave, Mira frowns, looking around what has to be one really elaborate dream. “Um, I’m Mira. I’m a medical student. Can you tell me where we are and how I got here?”

Looking for some serious answers after today, Mira remains still. Feeling like she’s losing her mind with all that’s happened to her, she is afraid this is just one more layer of her breakdown.

The dark storm and the weird people and Liem who keeps popping into her head, all of it is a bit too sci-fi for her serious mind. She isn’t fond of the magical fairy dust, or Peter Pan, or the wave of a magic wand kind of person. She just doesn't believe in it.

“We are in a fairy glade, my dear. You are quite safe here and just as you are in the capable hands of Liem. He will protect you with his life. As for how you got here.” Dewin strolled over and took a seat on a large rock, giving her the kindest smile. “I brought you here to introduce myself to you. Now that you have been found, your powers will be awakening. It is time for you to begin your journey. Our time will grow short and we must make best use of what time we have. The spell I cast on you will help you on your path. It will help open you to your power as they flourish.”

Shaking her head, not quite understanding what that means. Wondering if she hit her head harder than she thought, Mira considered if she was in a coma and having really wild dreams. There’s been theories about coma patients being able to vividly dream. Mira wondered if she could prove that theory now and could write her thesis on it.

As if reading her mind, Dewin addresses her fears. “You are not going crazy, my dear. Unfortunately for your species the world is succumbing to The Darkness and the only way to save those who are left are with the power of the Chosen Ones.

“Ardea, The Goddess of Light, has given you a gift, and the weight that comes with that power rests on your shoulders. You, my dear, are one of only two who can end the Darkness. Together you will fight to bring the world back into the Light.”

“Fight? I don’t want to fight!” Mira rejects the notion immediately, not wanting to hear anything more about it.

Her refusal only brought more anxiety to the situation as Mira fidgeted wanting to escape. The power in her began to shake the ground under her feet making her stumble. The light breeze that was blowing turned into a steady gust.

“Calm yourself, child. No temper is necessary. If you remain afraid of what is in you, then the Darkness has already won.” Dewin remained as he was, seated on the rock, and not pressuring her. “Breathe.”

Mira curled her hands into tight fists at her sides, afraid of what was growing stronger every day in her. She had no control over it. The idea of using this power, even against this darkness, was a risk of her hurting someone else. A risk Mira didn’t want to take. Doing as he said, Mira closed her eyes and breathed through the anxiety, steadied her breath with her mind and let the power flow through her.

When she felt more relaxed, Mira opened her eyes to look at Dewin. Still on the rock, as if she had frozen him in place, he didn’t move. She feared if she had frozen him until his eyes opened, gray as the sky, cool as ice, he nodded his head to her.

Motioning to the spot next to him, Dewin waited for her to sit before closing his eyes as if he was able to feel the tension rising in her. “Relax, Mira. This is a safe place from the dark. You can harm no one here.”

She doubted that. Remembering what she had done when the camp was attacked, Mira allowed her fear to get the best of her. Her power shot out hitting a tree, as if struck by lightning, the branches caught fire, bark burned and turned to ash before her eyes.

Scared of what she is capable of, Mira covered her hands over face and screamed at Dewin to stop. Suddenly all was quiet. Nothing moved in the glade. There was no longer a breeze. The animals were gone. And it was just her and Dewin.

“Breathe. Long inhale, cleansing your mind, slow release letting your worries go and your mind empty.” He instructed her again.

She followed his instructions. Breathing long steady calming breaths. Her mind settled, her pulse slowed, the tension she was feeling eases. Nice and easy as she breathed in with him. Smelling the fresh grass, the sweet scent of the flowers, the warmth of the earth.

She connected with her surroundings and allowed nature to wrap around her. Focusing her attention first on sounds, the water in the creek, bees going from flower to flower, the woodpecker in the tree. Then turned her attention to the touch of the softness of the grass under her feet, the breeze against her skin. And finally she smelled her surroundings, the sweetness of the flowers, the freshness of the grass, the earthiness of dirt.

“See? You are capable of more than you believe. Come now, your lessons will begin.” Dewin stood as if he was ready to teach her how to fly before she could walk.

“Wait! Just wait. What if I can’t do this? What if you’ve got the wrong person? Because I don’t think I’m your girl. I’m not magical! I don’t believe in magic. I’m a student who believes in science.” Defending her lifelong beliefs is a lot harder than she thought considering what she has seen, what she has done and where she is. Above everything she is talking to some magical weirdo who thinks he’s a wizard or something. “I’m not Harry Potter!”

“Nach mbraitheann tú an saol mórthimpeall ort?" Dewin simply asks, expecting Mira to understand him, and to answer him.

The scary thing was she did understand him. Worse, Mira could answer him. “How do I know what you asked me? I’ve never spoken Irish in my life but I know you just asked if I could feel the life around me. And I know that my answer is Sea, tá an saol i ngach áit ag bualadh go láidir.” (Yes, there's life everywhere beating strong.)

“You learn fast, ceann roghnaithe.” Pleased, Dewin nods his head in approval.

“I’m not The Chosen One. I don’t even know how I can be here. I don’t know how I have power! I don’t remember the last week after that storm! How do I know I’m not in the hospital with a head injury or something?” Mira demands answers from him. Asking questions he can’t possibly know the answers to.

The panic surges through her. Her heart pounds too fast, and her breathing is too hard, too rough. As the anxiety grows the winds begin to swirl the leaves around them, water funnels up into the air and a flash erupts from over their heads.

“Breathe, ceann roghnaithe. You cannot learn when you are distracted. Magic takes patience, focus, and a calmness in your heart to lead with light and not dark. Fear and hasty emotions will lead you to react with fear, even anger. Greed, jealousy, and revenge will put you on a dark path.” He begins taking exaggerated deep breaths to get her to follow his lead again.

“Obi wan, you’re our only hope.” Dewin tilts his head, not understanding the Star Wars sarcasm but Mira keeps going, waving her hand slowly, eye level in front of his face as if she was using the Jedi mind trick on him. “I’m not the Jedi you’re looking for.”

“I don't believe I know that specimen of creature.” His deadpan expression has her humor falling flat. Doubting Dewin has a sense of humor, she shrugs his comment off. His back, rod straight, Dewin gets to his feet. “You are however one of the destined Firebirds. The Emberwing to be precise. You will begin to train with me for the battles to come. After the next new moon, you will find yourself here again. And your training will begin.”

Dewin turned away from her and began walking towards the trees. Not understanding what he means, the confusion fills her again.

“Wait! You can’t just leave me here! I don’t know how I got here! How will I know how to get here again? Where is here?” Getting frustrated with this Dewin and the lack of answers he’s giving her, Mira grabs for his arm. He’s not telling her anything that explains what she’s expecting to do.

“This is a sacred place, safe from the Darkness and home to the creatures of the Light. That is how you found yourself here. You will find it again when the time comes. For now, you have other things to do. Practice your breathing. Focus on your surroundings. Become one with the earth.” Dewin walks back to where he first appeared.

Mira can only watch in amazement as the old man raises his hood and bows to her again. Turning away he heads back into the trees. “When we locate your mate, ceann roghnaithe, you will train together to defeat Pyremius and push back the Darkness for good.”

“Wait! Dewin! I can’t do this battle thing! I’ve got school and family! I don’t have time for this… please!” The plea hangs in the air only the floating lights around her can hear.

A single floating light comes right at her face, its light getting brighter with every inch, making Mira squint her eyes from the weird brightness of its sudden light. Turning her head away and closing her eyes, Mira waits until she can feel the light soften around her.

The warmth envelopes Mira as the light fades. Once again, she smells the smoke from the fire, hears the crackle of the flames and feels the hardness of the wood floor. Opening her eyes, Mira sees the fire has burned down to dying flames.

The bedroom she was in is filled with only the fading light of fire. Blinking fast, Mira tried to get her eyes to adjust to the dim light. Her brain doesn’t want to register what just happened. She was in a magical fairy glade and now is back here. “No way. I must have been dreaming.”

Moving her legs to stand up, her foot hits against metal that scrapes loudly over the wooden floor. Looking down, she sees a sword in front of her feet, on the hilt is a Firebird and the words ceann roghnaithe.

The chosen one.