Yazen (Ponith) (7 page)

"Beldis, I brought you some water," Kolin says while showing her a bucket of water.
He walks around us just a bit, avoiding coming too close. It's the first time I've see Beldis smile since we’ve started talking to her.

"Thank you, my dear boy,” Beldis says to him. She turns back to me, “
Kolin's the only one who takes care of me every day. He brings me water and keeps me company," Beldis says, as Kolin gives her the bucket of water. She begins to drink it, and it seems as if her bark’s getting some of its color back in it.

"Kolin, can you please show Zac and his friends around? They’re going to have to find a place to stay, and they're not going to be leaving anytime soon. Maybe you can introduce them to Rowin, and they can stay with you at the Last Hope for the night," Beldis says. I look at
Alex and Jenn with a worried look. What did I get us into?

"I will
; he’s out patrolling the Deeproot Forest today, so hopefully he'll be home soon," Kolin says.

"Are you sure you can't get th
e portal to open back up for us so we can just go back home?" Jenn asks.

"I'm sorry
, dear, but that portal hasn't been open on our side in years," Beldis tells Jenn. Jenn's mouth drops, and she looks really scared now. I feel my stomach drop as well; why didn’t my Grandpa tell me about all this? He made it seem like this trip would be just a visit …

"Are you ready to follow me?
I’ll take you to meet Rowin," Kolin asks, as he retrieves the empty bucket from Beldis.

“
Sure, that sounds fine. Maybe he can help us out,” I say to him. We pick up our bags, beginning to follow Kolin.

We leave Beldis behind as we head back toward
the portal. Kolin takes us east, away from the portal, into thicker woods. As we walk, Kolin explains that these woods belong to the Wood Elves. He calls it the Deeproot Forest, which looks similar to our forests back home.

After a g
ood while, we finally start to come up to a wall of spiked wooden fences and a wooden barricade, entering a small gate being guarded by two large creatures. They stand tall, best described as horses with a human torso, as odd as that sounds. Each of them pays us little heed as they stand but I can feel them watching us from the corners of their eyes, with some alarm. Kolin tells us they are Centaurs after he notices us staring back at them. He tells us they’re very proud and have taken up to defending the last stake of land they have left together with the others.

A large sign reads ‘
Last Hope’ just outside the gate. Inside it are downward sloping, large open fields leading toward a small lake. There are around 20 Dryads from what I can see, each shaped differently than Beldis, next to the lake. These Dryads are beautiful women embedded into the trees, a lot younger than Beldis. They're dancing and singing with some other Fauns and Centaurs. Off to the side there are a few other Fauns and Centaurs walking around. Further in the distance some tents and shelters are set up in clusters. We can see more of them walking around the camps there. Alex, Jenn, and I just stand there in awe, taking in the scenery.

“This is where I live with my brothers, sisters, and friends,” Kolin says. Everyone
has stopped what they're doing as soon as they see us with Kolin.

“What are you doing, Kolin? Wh
at are these creatures that you bring here?” a huge Centaur asks.

He’s taller than Kolin – it’s frightening. He’s
half horse and half human; from his torso up he’s human, and from the waist down, he’s a horse. His muscles are huge, and his veins pop out of his brown, tanned arms. He wears a cloth around his torso and left shoulder, studded leather bands on his wrists. He has a long, dark beard that hangs midway down his chest. Below his waist he has dark brown fur and large hooves. His ears are very pointy like the ears of elves from Grandpa’s stories. His voice is very deep and intimidating and I can feel my heart going a mile a minute, unsure of what will happen.

Kolin says, “They’re
Humans from Earth; they came through the old portal. Beldis asked me to bring them here and see if they can stay with us for the night."

The huge Centaur walks toward us. He’s eying us up and down. I’m guessing he’s in charge around here.

"Hi, my name is Zac, and these are my friends. We're trying to find the Yazen gem so we can go back home," I explain to him.

He laughs deeply, a great laugh, bellowing
, and holds his stomach. “You're never going back home; you're stuck here now. Do you know where the gem is at? The Dark Elves have it. You're never going to make it there alive and get that gem. You better start looking for a new place to live here … Sorry, Human, but welcome to Yazen,” he turns to his left, holding up his right hand to his chest as he announces in a stern voice, “My name is Rowin and I’m in charge around here.”

I don’t think we’re going to make it back home as quickly as I had expected.
I’m not sure what to do. I look at Alex and Jenn, and they’re not smiling anymore. They look really distraught and confused, looking to me for answers.

Rowin turns back to us, lowering his voice a bit,
"I'll let you stay with us for the night, Humans, so you’ll have a safe place to sleep, worry not. This area is where we seek refuge, when it's not our turn patrolling the Deeproot Forest. We built these spiked fences to keep this area secure and defensible. We always have someone on guard at the gates and patrolling the walls. We never know when another Dark Elf skirmish may come," Rowin explains, as he points to the spiked fences.

"I'll
have someone put your bags away. Since you’ll be staying here for the foreseeable future, why don't you go talk and mingle with the others, get to know some of us here?" Kolin asks, as he takes my bag from me and puts it over his shoulder. Another Centaur and two Fauns do the same with Alex’s supplies and Jenn’s bag.

I feel gracious and feel like I need to speak up.
"Thank you, Kolin, for bringing us here and, Rowin, for letting us stay here," I say, and Alex and Jenn say their thanks as well. We stick together and decide to go and try to make some friends.

Alex
is instantly drawn to one of the Dryad oak trees and heads over to her. The top part of her body is human flesh, but her skin below her waist is made of bark. She looks identical to a woman, but very different from Beldis. She has long, blonde hair that falls down past her shoulders. She has dark green eyes and very pointy ears. Her voice sounds like an angel when she begins to talk to him. Jenn does the same and follows him over to see; they almost seem drawn to her.

I walk around the premises, looking at their weapons that they have made, different types of spears, set out on
racks for easy access. They have a campfire in the middle of the fort, and the spiked barricade and defense completely line their campsite on the west side.

As I walk around inspecting it,
I can see the different dens that the Centaurs and Fauns have set up as shelters. A see a few children Centaurs practicing their fighting skills with each other.

After I walk around the campsite
for a bit, I decide to head over to Jenn, who is now talking with some of the Centaurs resting away from the wall.

“Hey
, Jenn, getting to know everyone?” I ask her. The Centaurs are showing her fighting stances and telling her stories.

“
Yes, I am, they're so nice here,” she says to me. Alex comes over to join us; I’m surprised he left the Dryad from the oak tree.

The Centaurs bring three mugs over to us. We all grab one,
and it looks to be some sort of juice. Rowin makes a toast, “To our new friends, may you stay safe and enjoy your stay.” We all clank our mugs together and take a drink of the juice. I quickly realize, however, it’s not juice that we're drinking, it's wine.

None of u
s have really drunk wine before and so it gets a bit odd. We’re all giggling and laughing and Alex starts to dance with the Dryads. A young blonde Dryad is running her hands over Alex, and he’s kissing her. The Fauns are dancing with the other Dryads, and Jenn is dancing with the Centaurs. I start to get real dizzy from the wine, so dizzy that I’m stumbling over my own feet and end up sitting down.

I must have blacked out because next thing I know Rowin is carrying me over his shoulder. I try to look for
Alex and Jenn, but everything is spinning so fast. Where is he taking me? Are Alex and Jenn with me? I feel like I’m going to get sick!

“Stop!” I scream while Rowin comes to a stop and sets me down. I start to vomit in some
bushes over toward the side of where Rowin is waiting. The wine is making me overwhelmingly sick.

“First time drinking?” Rowin asks while laughing. “I haven’t seen anyone get
that sick in years.”

I start to feel a little bit better
after throwing up and I stand up straight and face Rowin. “Where are you taking me? Where are Alex and Jenn?” I ask him.

“They're already at
the den we’ve prepared for you to stay in. I’m taking you there so you can eat and sleep for the night. It’s been a big day for you,” Rowin tells me.

I climb on Rowin’s back, and he takes me back to the den. I see
Alex and Jenn sitting around a fire, eating some sort of soup. Kolin’s there with some other Fauns.

“Hey guys, I’m here. Rowin was nice enough to bring me back
. I really wasn’t feeling good at all,” I say to them while grabbing some food.

“
I can’t believe how nice they are to us. They’re so friendly and nice here, aren’t they Zac?” Jenn asks me with a big smile on her face. She must have drunk more wine than me! She doesn’t wait for my reply before going back to her soup.

“Yeah,
I’m very grateful for your hospitality, Rowin. Thank you again,” I say. I try to eat some of the soup, filling myself up a bit after throwing up earlier.

After we’re done eating, they have a spot full of grass that they let us camp on for the night. It’s surprisingly warm and very comfortable.

Alex, Jenn, and I all lay close to each other. I think it’s more for comfort than anything I could imagine. I’m really glad that they came with me. We all fall asleep within minutes of lying down.

I'm the first to wake up
and I’ve got a splitting headache. I look over and Alex is sprawled out all over the grass. Jenn is cuddled up next to me. Kolin is nearby sound asleep, drooling all over another Faun. Rowin is nowhere to be found.

I quietly get up and decide to change into my other clothes
because I can still smell the wine from last night. I try to do it quickly before anyone else wakes up. Man … I really could use a shower. I try to mask the smell with some deodorant. I comb my hair and put everything back in my bag.

I only have a few more breakfast bars in my bag. I open one up and begin to eat it while drinking a little bit of water from my canteen.

I hear a noise outside, so I decide to look and see what it is. There’s no one around, so I walk toward the front gate. It’s still early but it looks like its going to be a beautiful day outside today. I see something running to my left and I catch a glimpse of a white horse in the woods. I turn to go back in, and then I see Rowin coming back with some fruits and berries.

“Good morning, Rowin. We'll be out of your way soon. Thank you again for letting us stay last night and for dinner,” I say while putting my canteen away.

“No problem at all, Zac, it was a pleasure to have met you. I have breakfast for you before you do head out,” he says while showing me the food.

“Looks good, I’ll wake the others and we’ll eat,” I start to walk over to
Alex and Jenn.

“Wait, let them sleep. They look like they need it. Come outside with me for a minute,” he waves his hand for me to follow him.

“What’s the matter?” I ask him while we walk far enough away, so we don’t wake the others.

“I just want to tell you about some of the creatures on our planet.
It is said that your planet is very different than ours. As you know so far, there are Centaurs, Fauns, and Dryads. We still have many more creatures that live in Yazen,” Rowin says while sitting down.

“Can you tell me about the
Dark Elves?” My grandpa didn’t mention them to me.

“
Ah, they aren’t native to Yazen. There are led by two ‘Dark Lords’ and their names are Caoell and Kumbricia. They're gifted, and amongst their own they call themselves High Mages. They started to take over about 45 years ago. They entered our portal looking for one of their kind that ran away and came to Yazen. Once they found out that one of their own was living here and he abandoned the dark arts, they begin to attack us.”

“We weren’t prepared for their assault
and as a result we didn’t put up much resistance. They eventually used their magic to push us back here and in the meantime they brought over some of their Dark Elf kin. The Dark Elves are very vicious and cruel, following their code of rule, their dark arts. They will come through our lands sporadically to steal our goods and even some of our people, to turn them into slaves. I don’t know for what reason; they so far have been unwilling to talk or negotiate with us. We have to fight them or they will end us,” Rowin says with a saddened voice.

“
Why did they steal the Yazen gem? So no one could leave?” I ask him while watching him pace around in concern.

“Yes, we’re held captive here
in a way but then again, we really don’t want to leave Yazen because Yazen is our home. No one dares to go near them, as we don’t want to lose any more of our people. When they first came here, a few of the Dwarves tried to fight them, and they were slaughtered. Since then each of the races has ceased trying and has just retreated to their own refuge,” he says while dropping his head down.

“I know it’s hard to talk about, but I appreciate you telling me about them,” I put my hand on Rowin’s back to let him know that I care.

I turn around and I see Alex and Jenn up and coming out to greet us. Alex’s hair is sticking straight up, and Jenn’s red lipstick is smeared on her face.

“Good morning, sleepyheads, it’s nice to see you alive and well,” I
smile as I head over to them.

“I slept like a rock. I haven’t slept that good in a long time,”
Alex says while holding his belly. “I’m starving. Can I have some of the fruit that’s on the table?”

“Yes, that food
is for all three of you. I wanted to make sure that you had breakfast before your journey into Yazen,” Rowin says while going back to the den.

We all sit at the table and eat breakfast together. Jenn is able to use some water to cle
an the lipstick off of her face and Kolin wakes up and looks at us like we’re ghosts.

“Are you real? I thought I had a dream that you came through a portal and then we danced all night together,” he says while standing up on his hooves.
He is still swaying and barely able to stand up straight.

“That really happened, Kolin,” Jenn says, giggling.
I think I remember Jenn and Kolin dancing for a while together. Kolin is very nice, but he seems to be very skittish. 

We clean up and start to pack our stuff up. We say our goodbyes to everyone an
d thank them for helping us out, but I’m in low spirits about what we’re up against. Rowin’s story and tale makes everything seems all that more grim. How are we supposed to get the gem back? It seemed so easy before but now I can’t get my head around it.

“See you later
and thank you for all the help you’ve given us!” I shout as we’re heading back out toward the Deeproot Forest in the distance.

As we’re walking, there are
different animals everywhere. We see all types of animals from deer, rabbits, butterflies, lizards, snakes, to squirrels. There are flowers everywhere, trees, and bushes. To the left of us is an open field full of pink and purple flowers. They're quite the sight to behold. I could lie down in the middle of them and stare up at the sky for hours.

We continue to walk
for a while and finally reach the start of the forest, and it seems to be very quiet and peaceful here. We decide to stop and have a picnic for lunch and we eat some of the food that I brought as we relax our feet. It’s not a lot and we’re all worried about what we’re going to have later for dinner. I check the compass while we’re stopped and notice the gem is quite a distance away from us still. There are some birds singing around us, chasing each other from tree to tree and I wonder why we haven't seen any other Dryads around yet.

We start to hike again when
Alex stops me. He says, “Look at that deer. I bet I can get a bead on it with my rifle.” He shows me his rifle. I forgot that he had brought it.

If he does kill it, we could use my hunting knife and cook it for dinner over a campfire.
Alex aims his rifle at the deer. He puts his finger on the trigger and whispers, “Everyone, cover your ears.”

Jenn and I bring our hands up over our ears to muffle the noise. Just when
Alex is about to pull the trigger, I can feel a sharp edge pressing against the small of my back. I look back and see that we’re surrounded by men and women pointing bows and spears at us. Alex has jumped back and has his rifle pointing at one of the men now.

“Put down your weapon, now!
” the man yells at Alex. Alex resists putting his gun down, glancing over at me, looking for a clue as to what to do. Jenn and I put our backs together next to Alex.

“
Alex, just put your gun down. If you don’t, they’re going to kill us,” I say softly to him.

“How do we know that they won’t just kill us as soon as I put my gun down?” he asks.

“We don’t, but we’re better off putting the gun down. Jenn and I don’t have weapons to help fight,” I tell him.

“This is my last warning. Put the weapon down now
or we’ll put you down. I’m counting to three, and then we’re going to fire. One … two …” the man yells out.

Right before he gets to three, the big white horse that I had seen earlier that day runs between the man and
Alex. It’s a big horse. It’s a … Unicorn.

It has a large, spiraling, yellow horn on its forehead, with white fur that's gleaming in the sunlight. It has dark black hooves
and it has white hair for a tail, long white hair from the top of its head down to the back of its neck. It’s absolutely stunning to look at. Its eyes are bright blue, just like Jenn’s and its large nostrils are snorting air out at the people pointing their weapons at us while stomping its hooves on the ground.

The
ambushers back away from us, while we try to move away from the Unicorn. We all watch it while it starts to walk over to me. I’m petrified that it’s going to spear me with its horn, but instead it stands in front of me, staring at me. I'm afraid to make any sudden movements. The Unicorn snorts at me and then turns to look at the others. I'm not sure what I should do.

“It can’t be
; is this man bound to the Unicorn?” the man asks out loud to everyone. Everyone begins to lower their weapons, including Alex.

“What
does that mean?” I say out loud, to no one in particular. The Unicorn stands by my side, as if it’s protecting me.

“I’m sorry for
threatening you. We thought you were a threat to our people, as we don’t allow any violence in our forest. My name is Laderic and these are some of my companions. You must be here to help us," Laderic say, while staring at the Unicorn.

"We just want to go back home," Jenn tells them.

"Why would we help you when you just threatened to kill us?" Alex says. I notice he still has a tight grip on his rifle.

"I apologized for
threatening you; we didn't realize who he was,” he says while pointing his spear in my direction, “If we would have known, we would never have drawn our weapons," Laderic says.

"We are trying to find the Yazen gem to go back home," I tell him. I'm starting to get
angry with this guy, first threatening me and then telling me I'm supposed to be helping them.

"
You're bound to the Unicorn. We have a legend amongst our people that says that when evil threatens our ways of life, the Unicorn will select a leader to restore the balance. The Dark Elves have overrun us and pushed us back, enslaved our people and took our lands. You must be the one!” he says while looking to his companions for confirmation.

“
You said yourself that you are trying to get the Yazen gem, so that means that you'll have to fight the Dark Lords to get it back. You've been sent here to help us against the Dark Elves that have taken over our planet. The Unicorn protecting you confirms it! What's your name?” Laderic asks while ushering his other companions over to me.

Laderic looks as if he could be close to our age, if not younger.
He must be one of the Wood Elves Rowin told me about, as they were said to live in this forest. He has long, blonde hair that’s almost white with two braids in the front of his face. His hair is longer than mine. His eyes are a dark forest green color that remind me of the trees back in the Tongass National Forest. I notice some of these Wood Elves have different tattoos on their bodies. Laderic's tattoo looks like a green vine running up and down his arms and legs with white lotus flowers attached intermittently to the vines.

“My name is Zac
, and I travelled here through the portal from Earth. I don’t understand what I have to do with this Unicorn. Why did this Unicorn come to me?” I ask them in a confused voice.

“Can this
place get any weirder?” Jenn whispers in my ear. Alex overhears Jenn and nods in agreement.

“
If you’re willing to trust us, I’d like for you to come back to our refuge. I’d like to introduce you to our king and queen and you can stay with us for the night if you’d like,” Laderic says while the other elves in his party disperse.

“What do you both want to do?” I ask
Alex and Jenn. I don’t want to be the only one making decisions on our adventure.

“We can go, but we need to watch out for them. I don’t think we should trust them
more than we have to,” Alex whispers in my ear.

“I think we should go. At least we will have a safe place to sleep tonight. Plus, I like have never seen a
king or a queen before,” Jenn says.

“
Okay, Laderic, we’ll take you up on your kind offer. We’ll follow you. Thank you for your open hospitality,” I say while we follow them back to their home.

While we’re walking, there are
dozens more Wood Elves that are coming out of the trees and following us. The Unicorn follows us still, although at a bit of a distance. I’ve never seen an elf in real life before, let alone so many. They really do have pointed ears!

We come to a stop in the middle of what looks like hundreds of tree forts all connect
ed together by rope bridges. It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen, so intricate and high up. They have wooden, spiraled stairs wrapping around the trees, going up to the forts and they have large wooden walkways connecting the larger trees together. They use big leaves for curtains in some of the windows, and a few of them have flowers hanging on their tree homes for decoration.

“Welcome to our home. Please wait here for a moment. I have someone who wants to meet you,” Lad
eric says while going up to a nearby tree home.