Across The Abhainn

The group travel across the World Sea to get to Arura. They learn about the beginning of the other world and also more about their own abilities. Sebastian makes a small revelation.

Going down the straight staircase was difficult for the boys as there was no telling when the invisible stair ended, nor if there was any kind of edge where they may fall off. As Vincent lead the group downwards, he kept feeling an odd feeling, as if he were being vigorously dragged downwards. His steps kept getting heavier as he went down the stair, feeling like his feet were magnetised and being forced to the ground. Yet, with every step dragging him down, he was feeling stronger. Strength filled his muscles and every step down felt lighter after the heavy pull. It was the strangest feeling ever but he continued onwards. Vince looked behind him briefly and could tell the rest of the group was feeling it too. 

Above them, the image of Dr Reveraux was becoming less and less human and more like a shimmer. It looked like he was following, but at the same time, he was not making any progress in the movement. Vincent was about to ask why until he felt a solid ground suddenly hit his foot and he slightly fell forwards, but regained his balance in time and stood at the end of the stairway. He looked at the floor and it was unlike anything he’d ever seen. The solid floor he stood on looked more like the sky. A giant stretch of pale blue as far as the eye could see, along with little dregs of white casually floating around. Looking out to the horizon, he only saw bluer and there was no end to it. Blue all around, blue below and even blue above, as if they were in the sky.

Gathered around him and the group were little clouds. Like dustballs full of glittering light, they danced around them, swirling peacefully but also flying erratically in excitement. Vincent reached out to one of the slivers of light and it felt warm at his touch, like a small heater. The light began to close in on his hand, swirling around it and tickling his palm. The way it clung to him was like a sort of gauntlet, spreading across his palm and hand and up to his fingertips. It seemed somehow familiar to him but he had no idea why he had this feeling. Like a mix between memory and deja vu.

Everyone reached the end of the stairs and looked around for a moment. The entire blue space was still and quiet, with nothing within immediate sight around to disturb the ever-flowing clouds and lights.

“Where the hell are we?”, Max whispered, looking around at the blue area.

“This is the Abhainn Bhais. The Ocean Between Worlds”, a gruff voice said behind them. The group turned to the man standing at the bottom of the stairs. The man was enormous and insanely muscular with short black hair and a big black beard. He had a few scars on his face and piercing white eyes. The group was startled by his sudden presence and got ready for a fight but he chuckled and walked right past them.

“You all wouldn’t be able to defeat me even if you had an army at your side. One for each of you. The Augur is as old as time itself”, he smiled, making his way into the distance. “Now, follow me. We have a long journey ahead.”

The boys seemed wary at first but followed him nonetheless. As they traversed the blue plains, they continued looking around at the surroundings, wondering how they could be making progress and yet, nothing was changing. Eventually, though, the silence was broken when Erik heard a chirping noise next to him. He looked down and jumped into the air, startled and scared, as he pointed at a strange creature in front of him. Everyone suddenly turned around and began a small commotion at the creature. It looked like a giant water droplet, balancing on an even smaller droplet.

The creature was transparent but the surrounding area made it look blue, except for two eye holes that swirled on its ‘head’ like whirlpools. It made a weird bubbling noise and zoomed around a bit in a circle. Next to the group, the Augur laughed out loud, to the point where it looked like he was going to hurt himself. The boys all stared at him with confused expressions, awaiting his explanation and he soon held his hand under the creature, allowing it to slide on to his forearm and float, or more accurately, blob from side to side in the air.

“This is called abhainn. They are the main creatures that inhabit this place and are completely harmless. All they do is live, survive and expire here. However, in other parts of Arura, they are water sprites, providing clean water for everyone to drink. A word of advice while we talk about it. If you are at a body of water and see less than four of these wandering around, then the water is tainted and filthy, so don’t drink it”, the Augur explained as he waved his arm and the abhainn squealed before floating away into the distance.

“Hold on, what do you mean by “the main creatures”? Are there more things here?”, Toby asked as he worriedly looked around. The Augur laughed a little more and looked upwards.

“Well, there’s them as well”, he said as he pointed upwards. Everyone looked up and saw the silhouette of a giant, slender fish with some kind of flowing thing following it at the head of it, looking very much like underwater hair. The group watched it float around, circling them as if monitoring them. Vincent was entranced by the creature but felt a pat on his shoulder and he turned around to see Erik pointing in another direction. Vincent looked and three more were also circling them. In the distance, Jacob could see more of them arriving. The Augur looked around at all of the fish things gathering around them and smiled. As they got closer, everyone could see them a bit more clearly and were stunned by what they saw.

“Mermaids?”, Erik asked.

“Close. These are the Mirren. Warriors, protectors, guides and more. They do all that the abhainn cannot”, the Augur said.

The Mirren did indeed look a lot like the mermaids depicted in mythology. All of them had tails of the fish and regular fish scales. The colours of the tails varied from purple to blue to green to orange. However, it was the top halves that made the difference. The scales at the tail and waists didn’t end there, carrying on all the way up their bodies and ending at the scalp where the hair started. On their faces, they appeared to have no mouths, nor discernible noses but gills on their faces that entirely covered their cheeks. They had rather long arms that extended down to past their hips and had sharp claws at their fingertips. Every mirren had different colours for their scaly skin that was made separate to their fishtails, some being yellow or orange, others were a light pinkish-red and some were a more cream colour. One thing that Vincent noticed and asked about were their bodies.

“Are these things male or female? It’s a bit difficult to tell”, he said quietly. All the boys looked at him for a moment, not with disgust but rather confusion and a small sense of wonderment as to why he would think that was an appropriate question at the current time.

“We are sequential hermaphrodites. We change our reproductive organs to the pleasure and preference of the most dominant members of our colony”, a voice echoed. 

Everyone looked around for a moment to find the source of the voice but it was Toby who found the source first, looking at one particular mirren which stared right back at him. Telepaths, of course. This probably wasn’t going to be the strangest thing they would witness today. Toby stared into its eyes, feeling as if he was familiar with the being and slowly being drawn closer and closer to it. The mirren held its hand out slowly, showing off the wens in between its fingers. Toby looked at the hand, wondering what to do, but slowly raised his hand and eventually met it with the mirren’s. The two held each other’s hand for a brief moment, everyone else watching and wondering.

“Your predecessor did great things for our kind once. I hope you will do the same”, it said and Toby looked into its eyes again, ready to ask what it meant. However, the Augur quickly interjected.

“Ah, they aren’t quite ready for that yet. We actually need to cross to the gateway. Could you help us get there?”, he asked. The mirren nodded and slowly floated away from Toby, swimming in mid-air and leading the group. Everyone followed and Toby followed the mirren closely. Meanwhile, Sebastian was at the back of the group and tried to avoid the gaze of all the mirren. As a lot of them were circling the entire group, he kept feeling the stares of a lot of them piercing his brain and avoiding looking up at any of them was difficult. The sooner he was out of there, the better he would feel. The group continued walking, for what they felt like was centuries, in complete silence. The occasional abhainn floating past them, especially loving Erik who would laugh and pet them as they bobbed past.

“You have a lot of questions”, the mirren stated suddenly. Nobody responded but it wasn’t wrong, they all wanted to know so much and didn’t know exactly how to phrase their questions. Soon, though, Vincent stopped and everyone else did as well. Looking at the Augur, he pointing a rather accusatory finger at him.

“Who are you and what exactly do you want with all of us?”, he asked boldly. The Augur grinned, almost sinisterly, and looked at the mirren, who nodded at him encouragingly.

“Well, you know me as the Augur of Debilis, but I have had numerous names over the eternities. I think if I am to explain what your role is here, I should start by telling you the very beginning. Let’s all take a short break!”, he said enthusiastically and he sat down where he was, inviting everyone else to gather around.

“Should we start up a fire or something? It might start getting dark at some point… if there’s even a night time here…”, Max mumbled as he sat down on the floor, which felt surprisingly light and not hard like concrete but more like a cushion.

“There is no night and day here, only endless light. Not until we get to Arura. For now, be silent and I will explain most of all… this”, he said as he pointed around them.

The Augur’s story began with the very beginning of everything. Time, space, worlds and species. Everything began with a substance, or energy source, that pulled matter together to create everything. Eventually, inhabitants of the known worlds would label this substance as Aotim.

“Autumn? Like the season?”, Toby asked.

“Yes, that is how it is pronounced, but it is far more than just a seasonal cycle. It is the substance that you all came into contact with at your little party. It changed at your touch because you are all special products of this substance. We all are. Aotim is at its strongest in Arura and in the Abhainn Bhais. On your other planet? Not so much…”, he continued.

Through Aotim came the First World, called Cearulia. Known also to inhabitants of Arura as the “High” or “Beginning”, this world was described as a paradise beyond compare. Everywhere you would go, there was only light. It was the planet with no night, the first star in our skies. Cearulia was the most beautiful place ever created and became the idea of Heaven to some. A final reward for their deeds on Arura. Over time, Aotim grew more and more powerful and created more worlds, thus came Arura. A lush and verdant planet with climates for all kinds of creatures. Arura was a home for all beings that were created from Aotim and they took great care of it, nurturing it and making it a second paradise, with only Cearulia being greater. 

Along with Arura was also Terra, the twin to Arura. This planet was made as equal to Arura, but none wanted it. Over time it became hollow and decedent. A lifeless wasteland for none to exist. Aotim created many creatures to live on Arura, but the two first factions were at odds. The Fera and the Vis. The Fera were beings with unique abilities, powers beyond that of the Vis and were regarded as the higher species. The Vis were elf-like creatures with the features of humans but slight differences. Taller, stronger and perfect physical specimens. The Fera believed that Arura was enough for them and that it provided everything the two factions needed to live, but the Vis felt differently. They wanted more out of everything, to conquer planets and spread the existence of themselves to all reaches of existence. Realising that they couldn’t co-exist, the Vis travelled to Terra, renaming it and themselves. 

The Fera knew that they would pose a threat to the existence of Cearulia, and so they used Aotim to create the Abhainn Bhais, a giant expanse of existence that no person could cross unless they were guided by the Fera that resided within. Eventually, these Fera became the Merwen.

“You still haven’t gotten to the part that involves us”, Vincent chimed in. The Augur grinned and continued the story.

In Cearulia, a small group of Fera had managed to enter the paradise and, through extreme training and gathering knowledge, they became the Magisters. They were the first rulers of Fera, being heralded as the masters of knowledge and life itself, even being considered gods in the more recent years. It was they who erased all knowledge of existence between the two races and changed the history they’d archived in order to make all believe that they two never existed together in the first place.

Everyone watched the Augur as he sat there smiling after finishing that part of the story. Everyone was completely speechless at the end of the long story and everyone had different expressions. Toby seemed paler than usual, looking slightly scared at the brief history lesson, wondering what other crazy and strange things may be awaiting them as they journeyed on. Erik seemed more calculating than the others, trying to piece everything together in his head. Though this didn’t mean he also wasn’t scared. Vincent was still wanting to know exactly what all of this had to do with them and stared at the Augur with a very searching look. Jacob was the same but just staring at the floor, his expression seeming to show confusion but, at the same time, understanding and a bit of relief. 

The Augur was taking note of this, as well as the glances Sebastian kept making to the mirren, who glared right back at him. Max, however, didn’t need to be seen to make his thoughts on this known. Gradually, he stood up and looked around the group.

“You know what? Here’s an idea nobody has pitched yet. We all got way too drunk at the party and passed out! This is some kind of group dream and eventually, we are all gonna wake up and be back in my house!”, Max announced with a smile. Everyone stared at him for a moment, nobody really buying into his explanation.

“Oh yeah? Then how do you explain this?”, Jacob asked as he got up, walked up to Max and slapped him in the face.

“OW! What the f**k, man?!”, he yelled, holding the spot on his face.

“Did that hurt?”, Jacob asked calmly.

“No! Clearly, I just yelled and said ouch for fun!”, Max sarcastically replied, looking like he was ready to return the favour. The Augur giggled a little, but quietly, so that none of them heard him. Vincent groaned and also got up.

“Look, even if all of this was fake, how do we explain Sebastian being here then? He wasn’t even at the party!”, Vincent added. Everyone looked at Sebastian who broke away from his constant looking around and shrugged. The Augur also stood up and sighed.

“I know all of this is a lot for you all to take in but everything will be clear when we get to Arura, I promise. None of you will regret this, dream or not”, he explained, looking to the mirren who nodded and continued along the way. Nobody moved until Sebastian, who stood up and promptly followed the mirren. Gradually, Vincent followed and Erik and Toby both stood up, encouraging the rest of the group to come along.

Hours elapsed, which almost felt like days in the endless blue. They’d been walking for so long, and yet, none of them felt tired. It was as if the weightlessness of the area was keeping them afloat and reducing the weight they had to carry. Then again, the physical weight of their own bodies was being easily replaced by the psychological weight of the story running through their minds. Humans used to be these weird magical creatures and there was an entire planet of different species right next to them, and yet, no astronomer, astronaut or cosmologist was able to see it. It was baffling, so much to the point where many of them still didn’t believe it. Though what else could they do but believe it? Even if this was a dream, it didn’t seem like they were escaping the dreamland any time soon so the best course was to just carry on until they were either home or given a thorough explanation.

“You don’t like me, do you?”, Sebastian asked. This time, he was ahead of the pack with the mirren and it had been weighing on his mind for so long that he needed to know. The mirren didn’t look at him but he heard the voice in his head.

“Aotim allows us all to have our own unique abilities. One common trait that all creatures of Fera have is sensing the Aotim within other beings. You can sense what kind of person they are and whether you should consider them predator, or prey. Try it. Use your ability on your friends”, the mirren said.

“How? I don’t know how to use the… Aotim stuff”, he replied. After this, the mirren looked at him with a piercing gaze, which unsettled him a little.

“You do. You have done it before. I can sense it. Recreate what you did the last time, but with less force and more focus”, the mirren explained. Sebastian sighed and closed his eyes to focus, continuing to walk. His head moved as he walked, sensing the energies around him. He could see the Aotim around him. It filled his senses, blocking the taste, smell, sound and sight. Only focus. Looking around, he saw the mirren next to him. The Aotim was strong around it, but not so much that he felt threatened. Though he was admittedly scared of the mirren, he didn’t feel threatened at all. Turning, he could sense his companions. 

He got a strange sense from Erik. He was powerful and his energy was rippling but he sensed Erik being more prey than predator. None of the others felt like a threat to him, even Vincent. Though their energy rippled violently, like reserved energy just waiting to burst. He felt it like the warmth of the sun and almost felt drawn to it. Though he felt something off with Jacob. Unrelenting violence and terror. His energy field rippled with great effect but felt like needles on Sebastian’s skin. He didn’t want it near him and felt like the only person he should be scared of was him. Then came the Augur. It was painful. As his head turned to the Augur, blinding white light shone in his brain, piercing his thoughts and breaking down his mental defenses with ease. There was something primordial about his Aotim, as if it had been spending eternities manifesting, building and becoming stronger. The light seared his skin, flesh and bones and it pained Sebastian so much to the point that he yelled and fell over. Everyone looked at him and he was breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Tell us who you really are! Your energy was… different. He’s extremely powerful and dangerous!”, Sebastian yelled. The Augur stopped and stared at him with a rather threatening face. The rest of the group looked at him suspiciously, but he simply shrugged.

“I’m who I’ve said I am. Just a guide of sorts. A prophet at best, really. I knew that you were all meant to be here and my job was to bring you to Arura. On my honour, that is the only reason”, he said with a smile. The group looked at him, then to Sebastian who wanted them to believe him so badly.

“Let’s just keep moving. You can both explain yourselves when we get to… wherever we are going”, Vincent said quietly as he kept moving. Everyone walked past him and Sebastian stared at the Augur who walked toward him, stopped and glared at him for a moment and then kept moving. 

The journey elapsed for another few hours until they reached a small black tear on the horizon. It looked far away to the naked eye but the mirren reached out and slid its hand into the crack. Slowly turning its hand, the crack widened and a bright light shone through it. The mirren looked back to the Augur who walked up to it and reached in with both hands. He pulled it apart and it opened like a giant curtain. The group all covered their faces as the light came through and, when it cleared, they were all stunned by what they saw. In the opening was an enormous green forest, full of life and a cross between vibrant green leaves and healthy brown wood. Above, the sky was a deep blue with not a single cloud in the sky and a great sun burning down on the forest. It was enchanting and magnificent.

“Alright everyone, we have reached our destination. If you would like to step through the entrance, we will finally be in Arura!”, the Augur announced happily. Erik was the very first to enthusiastically step through.

“Whoa! Hold on! You’re just going to rush in there?! We don’t know what’s on the other side of that hole!”, Max shouted. Erik laughed it off, looking through the portal.

“Are you seeing what I’m seeing? Look at this place! It’s amazing! What could possibly go wrong here?!”, Erik asked happily, going right through the portal. Jacob followed, along with Sebastian, slowly going through the portal and leaving Max, Vince and Toby on the other side. Jacob looked around the area, scanning the trees and forests and taking in a deep breath. Somehow, it made him smile and he felt the fresh, clean air fill his lungs and muscles. It felt great to be in this place, almost like being at home.

“Seems fine to me, come through”, Jacob encouraged the rest. Toby reached through to get in but the group was alerted to a screaming behind them. Jacob and Erik looked behind them to see Sebastian being picked up by a tree. A giant, walking tree. It was about nine-foot-tall, with giant branches for arms and long fingers, which were wrapped entirely around Sebastian. The creature roared and threw Sebastian at the portal. Upon hitting the top of it, the Augur was pushed backwards and the portal immediately slammed shut. Vincent banged on the crack in the blue horizon, trying to pull it apart again, but to no avail.

On the other side, Sebastian was helped to his feet by Erik and the three looked up at the huge creature which stared right back at them. Jacob bared his fangs and claws, ready to fight, whilst Sebastian held his aching back. Erik was breathing heavily and tried to look around for something to help them but then noticed something on the tree creature. Its belly and sides were all cut up and sap flowing from its bark.

“Jake! Wait!”, Erik yelled as Jacob roared and leapt on to the tree, sinking his claws into its head.