Memories of Lady Terestris

[Terestris]

----- Chapter 1 - Homecoming -----

By a small aperture in the wall, which resemble rather a mouse hole than a window, flowed into the jail faint trickle of moonlight. Terestris was lying calm, wide-open eyes staring into the darkness, and tried to oust from head the strange feeling, which had not for so long and which once jabbed a dagger into her heart, but so enticing feeling again - a sense of hope. A long time ago she forced herself to fight off away slightest idea of rescue and escape from this place, from this tomb, in which she was destined to rot alive. She didn´t remember anything from the time before she was dragged in here, she didn´t remember the trees, flowers or singing of birds. She wasn´t already able to recall what is home.
Elderly woman lying on the floor next to her, coughed in her sleep and the smell of sickness, hopelessness and approaching death wafted to a Terestris. All women sleeping in this room worked here as slaves, as property of the lords of the local castle and was surviving in appalling conditions. Terestris knew that even she will not live here to old age, because lack of rest and food, cold and filth in which they lived, forced their bodies grow old faster and they died impoverished, barely in forty years. Terestris, lived here since childhood and now in seventeen years old, it seemed like an eternity. She knew that one day she will breathe out last breath on this dirty floor next to other women. She reached out slowly her hand and wanted to caress a woman's head, but stopped in the movement and pulled it back. No, compassion and rapprochement with others brings only more pain. It's better to feel nothing, then sorrow for the next loss.
When she lifted her head slightly, she saw in the corner of the room shaking shoulders of newcomer girl. She cried silently, but tearing movements of her shoulders spoke for itself. Terestris forced herself to look away and dry-swallowed. She knew why the girl is crying, also experienced it, many times, but tried to forget such moments. From time to time, after work, they came for some girl and then she had to do the "company" for masters. When back then they came up for the first time for Terestris, she tried to escape, but thereby all just got worse. Lost in this remembrance, ran her fingers along the back of the thigh on her foot and felt the scar from a dog bite, which will forever remind this day. At that time Terestris locked her mind from the surrounding world and in her thoughts turned her body into a glass which doesn´t feel anything. Nothing more than emptiness. She shivered at the memory of thwarted escape. That time lost all her courage, accepted her fate and gave up all hope. Until this day.

This afternoon, when lord´s ships returned of raids and streamed from them crates of gold, precious metals, exotic fruits, women and children in fetters, she saw something strange in this parade. On the big carriage, bound in chains was dread inducing animal that perhaps not even didn´t originate from this world. Terestris stopped their work and like hypnotized approached to the animal and the closer she was, the more aware of its danger. The air around it as if electrified, and she was breathing heavily. She realized that his skin is nearly transparent, his body looks more like a big black shadow and like when somebody hitting of two ignescent stones from which will come a spark, in her mind flew out to the light the idea tucked away deep in the memory. Rather than idea, it was a reminiscence of a word that once upon a time had significance. Home. Her head swam, in her ears rumbled sound of beating hers own heart and before her eyes was blurred all shapes as drawing in the sand sodden by the rain. "Move away, you rabble!" yelled a soldier stamping in procession and pushed away her weak body, to she reeled on their paper foot and fell into the mud. Fall but woke her up and things around her again received a clear shape. She quickly stood up, grabbed a bucket of filthy water, which stood beside her and hurried back to hers work. Once more she looked at the strange creature and her head filled again thought of the word "home", that from then didn´t indulge peace to her.

[Terestris]

Now, in her cell just wanted fall asleep but despite exhaustion after working all day, sleep still didn't come, and her mind was clear as in the daylight. She waited until the person in the corner stops crying and when saw how the girl's shoulders slowly calmed down and jerky movements changed in the regular lifting and falling, she was sure that the girl finally fell asleep. Terestris rose up and on tiptoe carefully scrape through among the sleeping bodies. The door of the room was from decayed wood and on several places there were holes. It wasn’t difficult to get hand through in one of them and to put away the latch on the outside of the door. She gently pushed it and doors opened with creaky sound.
The corridor beyond was dark and deserted, nobody guarding here. It wasn't needed, was hard to escape from the castle. Guards patrolled the main gate also walls and hungry dogs watched surroundings. She ran down the corridor, then up the steep staircase and found herself in a small courtyard at the rear of the castle, leading directly to the stables. She crouched in the scrub, waited until the two guards, walking in the circle on this place at regular intervals, will move away to opposite direction from her and ran to the side door of the stables. It was dark inside and horses panted restlessly. Terestris's eyes grew accustomed to the darkness after a moment and she looked at all the animals in this room. But curious creature, which saw this afternoon, wasn’t there. Disappointed she turned and wanted to return the same way across the courtyard, but when she opened the door, froze in fright. She saw that the guards had already returned and stand directly in front of entry to stable. Quickly stepped back, closed the door behind her and decided to wait a while, as long as they will walk away again, but now she heard a muffled noise behind the wall.
She crossed to the back of the room and went out into the narrow passage. At the end she found the heavy door, behind which came sounds of strokes wooden sticks, male voices, laughter and strange sounds of them was aware hardship. Terestris sneaked through the door. She saw a circular room lighted by the torches and in the middle of it, terrifying picture of the suffering animal. That was it, the creature, which she was looking for. Around it were several soldiers from the Lord's retinue, and beat the animal with sticks and laughed out loud. Terestris quickly ran to the pole and hid behind it. Then she saw a small staircase leading to the gallery located in the upper floor of the hall. Fast climbed up on it, hid behind a stone pillar of railings, which surround the gallery and kept her eyes of the scene that unfolded beneath.
The body of the animal and also its mouth was still bound by metal chains, which was firmly notching into his skin. Although it looked like a black shadow, its skin was apparently solid and covered in welts from strikes which were given right now to it just for fun. Terestris felt anger and contempt for what was happening down, but couldn´t do anything. In that moment person came into the room. The cruel face a gaze full of darkness. Yes, it was a powerful lord of this castle. The feeling of repulsion which Terestris at this moment felt even more increased and her throat tightened. Lord went directly to the animal, grabbed the stick in the blow, when struck him, stick broke and splinters of it flew in all directions. Terestris sharply turned her head and closed her eyes. On her forehead appeared wrinkles and as if she felt the power of the strike. She didn't want watch more, but she was afraid to move, when suddenly heard the metallic sound of swords unsheathed of the scabbard. She knew what it meant. Lord is hungry for blood and intends to get a new trophy on his wall. Her thoughts fled away, she lost her fear in one single second, lost also caution and perhaps even common sense, when rashly stood up and screamed.

[Terestris]

Men down there looked up in surprise, and some of them started running toward her. But she ignored them, saw only, that when she shouted, animal jerked his head, its eyes gazed on her and their glances met. Everything took place so fast that she almost was not enough to realize what is happening around. The beast bow down its head to the ground and then reared up. Chains around its mouth and body cracked and fell with clank to the floor. In one swift movement knocked to lord of the castle and another soldier standing next to him so strongly, that they flew up to several meters away and lay motionless on the floor. Then its eyes turned to the two soldiers running towards Terestris. Its view plunged into them, they buckled in their knees suddenly and fell to the ground. Their bodies tossed in convulsions and from mouths covered with foam, was forced cry of pain. They died as if they were poisoned by a strong poison. Another soldier standing next to the animal lunged at it with a drawn sword, but it swiped at him and bit through his throat. Terestris wanted to hide her eyes when she saw it, but remained standing frozen. Lord of the castle lying nearby woke up and shouted at two other soldiers in the room "Kill it!" Then Terestris saw something weird. The animal looked as if preparing to strike the two, who now rushed directly to it, but actually it was completely calm, and when Terestris´s glance slid to its feet, saw it stomped several times. At that moment, through the open window slid down from the sky flash, struck both soldiers and they fell dead on the floor. From beneath their armor crawled smoke, coming from their bodies affected by lightning.
The Drake spread its wings, bounced from the ground and in one leap found itself on the railing of the gallery just before Terestris. Intently stared into her eyes, but not just in to her eyes, gazed directly to her soul. Between their heads was only a few inches and she could smell his skin. The smell of blood, death and danger, but also the smell of the wind and clouds. It looked like as its eyes are trying to tell her something, but Terestris didn´t understand. Instinctively she began to slowly back away until she bumped into the glass window behind her. She was seized by panic. Has no place to run away and probably will die like the others down there.
One floor below came the sound of metal armor stamping on the stone pavement, how the lord of the castle rose up from the ground and with fast heavy footsteps approached the stairs. As soon as the animal heard this sound, without leaving the view of Terestris, came out against her. Its heavy body bumped into her and she heard how the glass of window behind her cracked under the weight of impact. She felt her body passed through the window and pieces of glass cutting into her skin. She was falling into the space outside the window, but surprisingly soon encountered the stone surface. She lay on ramparts, which fortunately began just below the window, by which she and Drake broke through. At that moment she thought that animal apparently didn´t try to kill her, but that she only blocked its escape route. She raised herself on her elbows and in the pain get back on her feet. She looked toward the animal, it stood a few steps away from her and stared back into the window.

[Terestris]

Terestris looked in the same direction and saw the lord of the castle, which ricocheted off the wall beneath the window, jumped out and landed near her. In seconds of sudden silence she heard her heart to beat like if is trying to break away from her chest and heard also own rapid breath. Lord stretched out his hand to her, he wanted to grab her and drag her back to him. Like to last hope, Terestris looked back at the creature behind her, even though she was convinced that it already ran away. It, however, did not move an inch, raised front leg and stomped. Then she saw his gaze to the lord of the castle. As if the animal's eyes spoke and she caught those words at this time, although had no idea what they mean. "Kal Vas Flam" sounded in her mind and in the eyes of the animal suddenly appeared glow, reflection from the fire. She looked again to the lord, her tormentor and saw his body aflame. The heat tensed lord´s skin on the face and it cracked in several places and flowed out from fissures dark sticky fluid, his blood. His eyes were wide and his mouth open, but scream didn´t come out from his throat. Terestris was unable to tear his eyes away from this dread, but inside she felt relief, as if just waking from a bad dream. Before burning body slumped to the ground and remained from it a bloody pile of burning flesh, the animal jumped to Terestris and set its back to her. She turned to it, still dazed by what had just happened, wrapped her arms around his neck and collapsed on his body. Then just felt her face washed by the wind, when the animal get off the ground, raised toward the sky and beneath it left the castle, screams of guards, chaos and entire previous life of Terestris.
They flew higher and higher, but the spectral drake was injured and too small for it to be able to carry someone on its dorsum. Sometimes waved his wings in vain, and instead raised above, dropped back into the darkness below. It seemed that its power started to running out and Terestris began to think on the worst, when she was blinded by blue-white glow in the sky before them. The beast of the last forces waved its wings and they flew through the portal between two worlds.

Terestris lay in a swoon on the wet grass, which cooled down her wounds. After a while, her eyelids moved and she slowly opened her eyes. She sat up and looked past her. In the dimness of the ending night Terestris began to recognize shapes around. She saw trees towered over her, listened to the fluttering of leaves in a gentle wind and caressed the grass covered with dew. She tried to sort out her thoughts, to understand where it found herself and in this moment she remembered the creature, who helped her escape. It lay near her and did not move. Terestris put her hand on it, but its skin was no longer warm and soft, but cold and lifeless. Was dead. Sadness filled her heart, her eyes was suffused with tears. Spectral drake´s body suddenly began to dwindle away, until it completely disappeared. The hand that was resting on its back, fell into emptiness and Terestris burst out crying. She shrug her legs, hugged them in her arms and laid her head on her knees. Hot tears flowing on her cheeks, fall into the grass and mixed with cold dew. Around her head blew through the wind and stroked her hair. She recognized in its murmur around her ears distant female voice, which whispered to her, "Welcome, traveler. This land is Felucca. Welcome home, Terestris!"