Kindred Song

Llaiannileaf moves through time searching for her family.

4.

Kindred Song

 

Llaiannileaf did not go far, however, for she was compelled to search for family.    The Chronal Well must have led at least one of them - at some point in time- through this area.    She knew that the destination would stay the same, throughout time, until the planet died.

So sometime in the history of this world, a member of her family had appeared here.   Llaiannileaf had not sung the Kindred Song when she first appeared, for she had been distracted by the evil man that had kidnapped Finola.    But now she could freely call to her family.

She shifted her location, thinking of the hill where she first entered this world.     Immediately she stood at its summit.    It was a somewhat stormy summer night and lightning flashed occasionally as a warm wind billowed through the trees.    Nothing else had changed on the hill.     Wrapping her cloak around her against the wind and light drizzle, she took a deep breath and began to chant the Kindred Song.

Her voice, fuelled by the magic of her race, carried powerfully through the hills and valleys of the area.    In the dirty huts and cottages, the humans bolted upright as her haunting voice filled the night.

All who listened did not understand the language, but found visions of their kith and kin filling their heads.     Thoughts of children and loved ones, gatherings of cousins, grandparents, uncles and aunts.     Though frightened by the mysterious singer who was somewhere out there in the stormy night, the song itself made most of those who heard it listen closely for many minutes with faint smiles on their faces.    Homes where babies cried were silenced for the duration of Llaiannileaf’s song, as the infants listened in wonder.

She sang for half of an hour, her tune growing more somber and lonely as it ended, for none answered her song.   The humans felt the change of mood of the song and many wept as their minds were filled with thoughts of relatives that had died.

Llaiannileaf wiped tears from her eyes as the last notes of her chant echoed up and down the valleys, mixed with peals of thunder.

None of her people had heard her song.

 

Perhaps if she went backwards in time, to near the point where she had first entered this world, then she could try the song again.   Yes, she told herself, that was where I entered, and hopefully some of the others entered there as well and lingered nearby, waiting for their kin.

As the rain began to fall harder, she thought of the time at the end of her first encounter with Finola as a child and shifted at once through the grey nothingness of In-Between Space.

Then she was there again.     She had returned to the scene, but somewhat later, after Finola’s rescuers had found her and taken her away.    Her abductor’s corpse lay in the mud where he had fallen.   The heavy fog that had covered the forest was now mostly gone, though the sky was still  grey.

 

She could see the rescuers’ torches nearly a mile away, as they slowly retreated through the thick underbrush, to return the girl home.   

Llaiannileaf waited for a short time, resting her voice as the humans disappeared in the distance.

She longed for her harp, so she could honor any family that heard her song with its pleasant sound.    But she had left without the instrument, so she had to rely on her voice alone.

Finally she decided to try her song, once again.    Soon the same haunting tune carried over the hills, making all who heard it pause and listen.   

Llaiannileaf tried to be optimistic, but as the song continued, she knew quickly that none of the Sidhe were within hearing.

Still she sang, for about a quarter of an hour, while watching closely to be certain that no human tried to sneak close to see who was singing.

Yet no-one was around and Llaiannileaf at last stopped, heartbroken and extremely alone.

 

She leaned against one of the radiation-diseased trees and tried to think of what to do next.   What option did she have left to her?    She would just move through time, stopping at intervals to try her chant.    Her family would respond if they heard the song.

If they were here and still living.

The possibility of the opposite horrified her, for the Sidhe rarely experienced death.    To conceive of her entire family as gone was mind-numbing for Llaiannileaf.

Fear prompted her into grim determination and the Sidhe youth shifted forward in what was, for her, a blink of an eye.

The hill no longer was covered with muted fall colors, but now was green.    It was night now and a full moon overhead sent a ghostly glow over everything.    

Without any doubt, Llaiannileaf knew it to be the summer equinox.     Times of balance or extremes were the easiest entry points into most worlds.   Her father had told her that.    Equinoxes, Solstices, twilight or dawn - during these times magic was strongest and the barriers between worlds thinnest.

Leaf (for now the nickname suited her) looked around the hill and heard movement within the trees.     Frightened whispers and others trying to silence them.    She could smell the humans’ fear.    They would not dare approach her, for they sensed the barrier weakening, though they did not understand what they felt.

 

She had to make it quick.     Once again she launched into song and all fell quiet as her song continued.     Even the insects were hushed as she sang, with a slight hint of hoarseness, the Kindred Song.

Her weakening voice kept the song brief, and she waited longer after finishing it, hoping to sense someone known to her, within the range of her voice.

Instead, she could discern a pair of young human men, crawling on their bellies, trying to make their way stealthfully to the summit of the hill.    They hoped to see the ghost who sang such a sad song.

 

Leaf felt both annoyance and amusement at the humans’ caution.    Curiosity was always getting this race into trouble, but she meant them no harm.   She waited until they were almost halfway up the hill before she vanished, only to reappear between them, touching both of them on the tops of their heads with her hands.  

“Moonlight betrays you.”  She said to them as she reappeared, and her apparition-like materialization was so unnerving to them that they screamed, jumped to their feet and ran wildly down the hill.

One of the young men was so terrified that he ran head-long into an unyielding tree and fell hard to the ground.   Leaf giggled at the sight, but shifted out of space and then back in front of him.    

Two simple words of healing cured his wounds and his eyes popped wide-opened upon seeing her standing over him with amusement on her face.

“Now your eyesight betrays you.      You should only move about in daylight.     Ghosts and faeries aren’t as active then.”    With a slight laugh, she now left this time and place, wondering what legends and tales this encounter would generate.

 

***

With stubborn determination, Llaiannileaf shifted forward again in time, beginning to understand how light a shift was needed to move forward in time many years.

She materialized into view, this time into a winter scene on the hill.    Snow was to her knees and a cold, but gentle wind blew as she glanced to the east, where dawn was preparing to break into the darkness.

Another transitory time, she thought as she pulled the cloak around her against the cold.   It was probably winter solstice now and she had no idea how many years had passed since her last appearance.   For her, it was just a matter of moments.

 

Again she sang her song, finding her voice was strained now after several attempts at locating her family through the magic chant.   The song filled the air in the cold pre-dawn twilight and echoed across the hills.    Nothing stirred and Leaf quickly became disheartened, though she continued to sing as the daylight increased.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught something twinkling in the air, beneath a leaf-less branch of one of the trees.    Without pausing in her song, she trudged through the snow toward the tree and found the branch covered with pieces of somewhat crudely constructed jewelry.   Most were made of carved wood or cheap metals.  

But the one that had sparkled in the dawn’s light was much finer in construction.    It was a delicate silver necklace, made of carefully twisted pure silver, and from it hung a clear jewel of crystalline beauty.   

For an excited moment, she thought it might have been of Sidhe design, but upon closer examination, she could see that it wasn’t that well made.    For the humans, though, it was marvelously done and still was quite pretty.    The other pieces of jewelry had been carefully arranged over the branches of the same tree, as well as several next to it.    The trees looked as if someone had tended to them from time to time, trimming off branches and clearing offshoots from around the base.  

It was a shrine of some sort and Llaiannileaf knew that it was for her.    Her ghost-like appearances and angelic benevolence had created a myth of her presence here, even though she just appeared briefly.

To the lone Sidhe girl, the sentiment touched her, and she unhooked the pretty necklace from the low branch and wore it as she finished her song.

Reviews

[Elina]

"...though the sky still was grey." You may want to switch "still" and "was."
"...so she had to rely on just her voice." Perhaps, something along the lines of "...rely on her voice alone."
"Finally she decided to once again try her song." It may sound better "Finally she decided to try her song, once again."
"...shifted forward in what for her was a blink of an eye." Maybe "...in what was, for her, a blink of an eye."
"...understand how light of a shift was needed..." You can probably remove "of."
"She faded into view this time into a winter scene on the hill." I don't think "faded" is quite the right word, here, as it makes one think of something disappearing, rather than appearing. Also, you'll want to add a comma after "view."
"For her it was just a matter of moments ago." You can remove "ago." Also, you'll want to add a comma after "her."
"...myth of her presence here even though she just appeared briefly." There should be a comma after "here."

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Elina, for finding all of my mistakes.

[Dhaye]

Enjoyed this chapter about the transitory time, her ability to go to any moment (to the human world it could be thousands of years). I also feel the loneliness of someone seeking for her family but couldn't find them.
Glad I can follow the story now.

[Eddie Davis]

Thank you, Dhaye.