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Yakut
Yakut was wandering through the Land of the Dead,
guarding the vast plains and hills, making sure that the
Amazons that died in the last war were traveling safely to
their destination: Eternity. The emptiness of the Land of
the Dead was nothing new. Most of the Amazons had already
passed on. There was but a small group in the distance.
Suddenly, there was the sound of battle. It was coming
from the direction of the small group. As Yakut ran to the
scene her worst fear came to pass: fighting her sisters
were Yakut's worst enemies, the Fallen Ones, the Amazons
who had betrayed her ancient tribe to gain their strength.
They were killed but most of her old tribe gave their
lives to achieve that. These Amazons had amazing strength
both spiritual and physical and Yakut had feared that they
might someday return from Eternity.
She rushed into battle calling the spirit of the Elk to
give her strength. With her sisters she managed to knock
most down. The rest retreated. Yakut told her sisters to
find safety until she came back with reinforcements.
She awoke in a cold sweat, quickly trying to regain
control over her body to warn the others. She went to the
Queen, Celosia, and told her of what had happened. All the
Amazons needed to go into a trance and fight them for they
had little time left.
Thalia
The Amazons were gathered and sat in a circle around the
fire in the center of the village. Tern and Medea appeared
from the woods and sat down in between Xanthea and Belen.
Léda came out, settled herself between Aurora and Alcina,
across from Belen.
A few minutes later, Thalia opened the flap of the
medical tent and approached the Amazons.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Yakut explained the situation, how they had to go help
their sisters.
"I'm joining you." Thalia sat down next to
Celosia.
"I'm not sure if you're strong enough in your
condition, Thalia..." Yakut started.
Thalia shook her head. "I'm going." She said
flatly. "You may need my help, and I wouldn't be able
to live with myself if I wasn't able to help our sisters.
The spirit of the Snow Wolf will protect me."
"All right." Yakut nodded, and the Amazon sat
down next to her.
Tern
With a heavy sigh Tern murmured something to herself.
"What was that?" Medea asked, leaning closer.
"It's been a long time since I visited the spirit
world," the Amazon said softly, memories haunting
her.
"Do you want to stay?" Thalia asked, surprised
by the mood change of the older Amazon.
"No. I go where I am needed. The Dragon protects
me. I just don't look forward to running into someone
there."
Medea squeezed her mentor's hand in comfort and
understanding.
"When do we leave?" Tern asked.
Xanthea
Xanthea took a deep breath. "We can do this,"
she murmured to herself. "We have to do
this." She was psyching herself up for her next big
adventure. It had been a while since her first trip to the
Spirit World. She sighed to herself.
"Whenever you're ready, Yakut," Xanthea said.
"I'm pretty sure we're all as ready as we'll ever
be." She smiled slightly.
Belen
Belen closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, but she
had a bad feeling about this. She could feel her heart
beating faster and faster. "Calm down Belen. This is
going to work. You have to believe that if you want this
to work," she thought to herself.
Her heart started beating normal again as she focused
harder. She closed her eyes for what seemed like an
eternity and when she opened them again she was in a
different surrounding one she did not recognize. She saw
no one around her but she sensed she was not alone.
She turned her head and for a second she saw a blurry
image of her Amazon sisters in deep meditation where she
had left them but it soon disappeared. She did not want to
be here alone and she couldn't help but wonder why she
was. Then suddenly she heard someone calling her name she
looked around but saw no one.
"Belen," echoed the voice again. Again she saw
no one.
Someone touched her shoulder she spun around. "Calm
down Belen! No need to be so jumpy," said Thalia who
was now behind her.
"But...where did you come from? You weren't here a
minute ago."
Thalia looked puzzled.
"Nothing is as it seems here Belen," said
Yakut. Now Belen and the all the Amazons journeyed to find
their new enemies.
Thalia
Thalia looked around. All around them was a weird sort
of haze. She had visited here before, but not for very
long periods of time. She flexed her left arm, feeling
only dull pain in her shoulder. She expected that because
they were in the spirit world, but she knew that she was
still wounded and would have to be careful.
"This way," Xanthea waved for them to follow
her.
Thalia's heart was beating quickly, she wondered what
they were up against. Would they be able to handle this
enemy? Enemies that attack in the spirit world are many
times more powerful than those in the real world are.
Thalia took a deep breath, she had faith in her sisters.
As long as they worked together and not against one other,
they would be able to accomplish the impossible.
"Look!" Léda pointed ahead. Thalia looked up
to see....
Tern
With a grunt, Tern and Medea rose. "That was a
bumpy ride." Medea muttered.
"It's been a while." Tern's gray eyes searched
the surrounding trees as they joined Thalia and Léda.
"What are you looking for?" Thalia asked.
Tern shook her head. "Not what. Who."
"You think she's here?" Medea asked softly.
Tern swallowed. "I hope not."
"Who?" Léda asked.
"My sister, Pelee. We were separated a long time
ago," Tern said softly. "Every time I'm here, I
search for her, but it's been so long now. If she's here
I'll feel her, I hope."
They stood quietly, not sure what to say.
"Let's get going. Looks like everyone is
here." Tern glanced around for a quick head count.
The Amazons assembled.
Belen
Every Amazon was on their guard. Belen clutched her bow
with her right hand and her left hand rested on one of the
sais at her waist. Just then the Amazons heard a twig
snap.
"It came from over there," one Amazon called.
She was pointing into a swamp area that was covered in
fog. Five Amazons were sent to check it out. They crept
quietly into the swamp not making a noise. The Amazons
watched as the five sisters they sent into the swamp
disappeared into the fog
Thalia
Thalia clutched at her crossbow with her right hand,
fidgeting with it nervously. She knew she could move her
left arm without pain, but it would do more harm than good
in the other realm. All around her, her Amazon sisters
kept a watchful eye, ready for some unseen enemy to jump
out at them.
Thalia listened and watched for any sign of an attack,
quietly praying to the spirit of the Snow Wolf to protect
her and her sisters.
Celosia turned, holding up a hand for them to be silent.
They crept slowly towards the swampy-looking area,
listening carefully for any noises from the enemy.
"We must be careful." Celosia whispered.
"There are other creatures in this realm besides the
ones we seek. Powerful, hungry creatures that can feed off
of your mental energy."
"That's... not good."
"No, it's not. So step carefully, watch each
other's backs." Celosia crept forward.
Suddenly, there was a horrible screeching sound, like
nails on a chalkboard. A giant gray body leaped out of the
bushes at them, claws outstretched, heading for Celosia.
Léda
"NOOOOOOO!" Léda cried out, running toward
Celosia, to try and knock her out of the way.
Celosia wasn't stupid; she was running, but not fast
enough. Léda knew there wasn't much time left before the
animal claimed its victim.
Taking a deep breath, not wanting to expose her secret,
but knowing her Queen's life depended on it, she held up
one hand and formed a giant fire-ball. Pulling her arm
back, she was about to launch it, when she heard Thalia
squeal in joy.
The beast had stopped just in front of Celosia and was
sitting there wagging its tail and looking up at her.
Thalia ran over to it and the rest of the Amazons finally
recognized the animal as a rather large wolf.
Léda's fire ball quickly diminished as the others ran
over to see why this wolf had come so suddenly, but
seemingly, not to harm them. She didn't think anyone saw,
and figured her secret could continue to be a secret.
But one Amazon had seen and knew she was not imagining
it.
Tern
Watching carefully, Tern hung back. Though she and Léda
had never been really close, Tern had always been pleasant
with her.
Léda eyed Tern cautiously. The Head Witch casually
brushed some hair from her eyes as Thalia played with the
wolf.
Now Léda wondered what Tern would do. Expose her? Or
keep the secret. Tern winked at her suddenly before
joining Thalia and the wolf. Léda knew she was safe for
now.
Thalia
"Desdion!" Thalia cried.
The other Amazons murmured in confusion as Thalia
scratched the giant animal behind the ears. "Desdion
is the mystical wolf that watches over me," Thalia
explained as they gave her quizzical looks. "He
usually roams around the Spiritual plane." She
scratched his chin. "Don't worry, he's
harmless," she added as some of them watched him
warily. "Well, he'll be fine as long as you’re a
friend. He's very protective of me."
"C-can you tell him we're friends?" Léda
asked.
Thalia shrugged. "Sure. He talks to me
telepathically. He can understand some of our language,
but it's easier for him to understand me when we
communicate with telepathy."
Why have you come, cub? The wolf sent.
We're here to help some friends that are in trouble.
Thalia answered.
Desdion sniffed at her left arm. What happened?
I'll tell you later. For now, we have to go help my
sisters.
Very well, I shall join you.
All right. Thalia headed back to her sisters, the
giant wolf by her side. "He's going to come with
us."
Celosia gave a nod. "Glad he decided to join us.
Shall we continue?"
The Amazons gave a low warcry, following their Queen
through the depths of the spirit world.
Medea
"Hey Tern," The younger Amazon looked up at
her mentor eyes full of uncertain inquiry. "Is it
just me or is it kind of…um...creepy…here?" She
glanced behind her uneasily. This whole spirit-world thing
was not her idea of a good time. Fighting Amazons
who were already dead was NOT her idea of a good
time.
Tern snickered and elbowed her apprentice
good-naturedly. "What's wrong Junior? Scared?"
"Am not!" the Regent insisted haughtily, hands
on her hips. "I just don't see the purpose of
fighting something that's already dead! I mean, what harm
can we do? They're dead. D-E-A-D, dead. They're not gonna
get any deader, we're not gonna be able to kill them
because their already gone. They've been there, done that.
Seen death, refused to move on-so why in Tartarus are we
out here . . ."
"SHUT UP MEDEA!" the group of Amazon’s
shouted at the blond, looking thoroughly irritated.
Tern concealed a grin and moved up next to Medea.
"We're not out here to kill them Medea, we're but
here to make sure they don't hurt our sisters...there's a
difference."
"Bah. The only way to stop an Amazon is
death." Tern shook her head disapprovingly.
"What? It's true." the woman sighed and walked
away. "This sucks," Medea grumbled and trudged
along behind her sisters, eyes to the ground.
Xanthea
Looking around, Xanthea tried to get her bearings. She
followed her sisters through the Spirit World and knew
what they needed to do yet part of her was a little bit
scared. She knew that the spirits of this realm were more
powerful in death than they had been in life.
Granted the Amazons might have the advantage when it
came to numbers, and now Thalia's wolf to guide them, but
they still would have a long, difficult road ahead of
them. She took a deep breath and looked around again.
Xanthea shivered slightly. She was suddenly so cold.
"Is anyone else getting cold or is it just
me?" she asked her Amazon sisters.
Léda
Léda noticed it HAD gotten a lot colder suddenly.
Looking around, she saw a lot of other Amazons looked
confused and cold as well.
Suddenly a dark shadow ran right over everyone. All the
Amazons froze and looked up to see what had caused the
cold and darkness.
Belen
All they could see was a black figure above them. It was
a woman, probably an Amazon judging from the clothes, but
they could not make out her face.
"Oh no," Tern said with a whisper. Tern could
feel the color drain from her checks.
"What’s wrong?" asked Medea with alarm in
her eyes.
Suddenly a horrible noise poured from the black figure.
Belen and her sisters grabbed their ears in pain.
Thalia
Thalia clutched at her ears trying to drown out the
horrible screeching noise that threatened to shatter her
eardrums. "What's going on?" she yelled. She
could see Tern shrinking back, what did she know about
this person or creature?
The pain grew worse and the Amazons shrank to their
knees. Whatever it was, the shadow approached them,
drawing closer and closer. Thalia gritted her teeth as the
shadow was nearly upon them.
Suddenly, Desdion put himself between Thalia and the
creature. He let out a long howl, and the music stopped.
Run, cub! He ordered.
But...
Go! Take the others and run! NOW!
"We have to get out of here!" Thalia got to
her feet, motioning for the others to follow....
Tern
With a grimace at the figure, Tern waved her hand at the
others. "Go!" she yelled, twirling her staff.
Medea, not one to abandon her cousin and mentor, pulled
her bow and stood ready at Tern's side.
With the wolf and Thalia in the lead, the others
retreated.
"What is it?" Medea hissed.
The figure darted forward at the pair. Stepping forward
Tern swung the staff, flinging the black robed figure into
tree. The cloak hit the tree and crumpled to the ground in
a heap. The creature was gone. Tern ran to the tree and
grabbed it.
"It's not-not Pelee is it?" Medea asked
fearfully.
"No. She would never attack me. She's not here. I
don't know what this was but it knows me." Tern knelt
and picked up the robe carefully.
"How do you know?" Medea demanded.
Tern rummaged through the tangled robe, coming up with a
silver pendant. It matched the golden dragon around her
neck.
Medea studied her mentor. Tern was withholding
information.
Xanthea
The Amazons ran following the wolf and Thalia. They had
no idea what they were up against. Whatever it was, it
seemed to want Tern.
Xanthea glanced back for a moment, seeing Tern and Medea
preparing to take care of the situation as best as they
could. She shook her head but kept running. She and the
others would do no good if they ended up hurt . . . or
worse.
She turned to Thalia. "Where are we going?"
she called. "What's going on here?"
Thalia turned back to Xanthea. "I don't know, but
it'll be safe. Trust us."
Xanthea nodded, knowing she could trust Thalia and her
animal companion. Why can't anything ever be cut and
dry? Just for once, why can't something be simple? she
wondered. This distraction wasn't something they needed to
get their work done on the Spiritual Plane.
Medea
What's she thinking? I know she's thinking something.
Medea thought suspiciously, trying to tune into Tern's
thoughts.
"We should probably follow Desdion to where ever he
wants to take us and then regroup," Tern suggested,
leaning heavily on her staff, a faraway look in her eyes.
Come on, what is it? Just a little further into her
thoughts . . . Medea scowled as she was met with a
strong mental wall. Tern shot her a warning look and
turned to the other Amazons, listening to their
conversation.
Zeus! Something's afoot and I want in on it!
Medea thought in her usual hot-tempered manner.
"Tern, I think we need to talk-" she
approached her mentor carefully, laying a hand on her
shoulder.
"Not now Junior." the taller blond shrugged
her hand off and moved away, toward the hidden Amazons.
She couldn't have Medea discovering what was on her mind.
She knew her conniving apprentice would find a way to read
her mind if she didn't put some distance between them.
"Huh. How do you like that?" the younger woman
pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh I'll
find out what you're hiding Tern...I promise you that. You
can't hide from me," she growled and moved
into the circle of other Amazons thoroughly disgruntled.
Tern
Heading towards the main group, Tern was lost in her
thoughts. She felt the gentle mind touch of Medea. As
mentor and teacher to the younger witches of the tribe,
she hadn't taught them everything yet. Medea couldn’t
break into her mind unless Tern wanted her to and Tern
preferred to spare her cousin.
Rubbing her thumb over the medallion they had found in
the cloak, Tern pushed aside her troubled thoughts as they
joined the rest of the tribe.
"Let's follow Desdion," she called to Thalia,
who was near the front of the group. Thalia nodded,
respecting the Amazon's choice to not disclose the events
of a few minutes before.
"This way." she called, leading the tribe.
Yakut
Desdion and Thalia led the group through the Spirit
Realm until Yakut called a halt. "I’m not certain
where the Fallen Ones have gone," she mused aloud.
Queen Celosia came up beside her and laid a hand on her
shoulder. "Perhaps this is a fight we will need to
continue another day," she said gently.
Yakut glanced at Tern. "Perhaps I shouldn’t have
been so quick to call all of you here. The Fallen Ones are
the enemies of the soul, not enemies of the body."
She turned to face the assembled tribe.
Brave women, all of them. They had come when she had
called, heedless of the danger of walking through the
Spirit Realm. And though some had hesitated, all had come,
to protect her from her ancient enemy. It was more than
she should have asked for.
Decision made, she allowed herself to rise from the
"ground" so all could see and hear her.
"Amazons," she said, amplifying her voice.
"Call your spirits. Here the spirits are very
powerful and they will protect us from the Fallen
Ones."
Yakut called her spirit, the elk, invoking and
empowering the spirits of her assembled sisters. One by
one the animals came, appearing out of spirit mist and
forming next to their guarded Amazons.
"Heed me, spirit of the Amazons!" Yakut called
when she could see a range of spirit walkers and spirit
creatures. "I call to you to protect and serve those
whom you have chosen. There is a threat in this land, that
of the Fallen Ones. Ancient enemies who seek to steal the
power of the Amazon!" Yakut’s voice cracked a
little as she spoke, her mind filled with the echoes of
her own fallen tribe. She heard the spirits rumble in
defense of their charges, pawing the spirit ground and
snorting the spirit air.
"Watch over us carefully, friends! We must return
to our own world of the flesh before we are trapped here.
Be watchful. Be ready. Be our guards as well as our
guides!" Yakut’s voice swelled and the Amazons
cheered her rallying cry. The spirit creatures echoed the
sound.
"I charge all of you to return!" Yakut cried.
And she stood alone on the spirit plane. Nodding, she
bowed her head, and willed herself to return to the
physical plane. She would wake in a few days, exhausted,
but in her own hut within Themiscrya.
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