Alexandra and the Gods of Earth: Book One
The Names
"It was the nightmare of real things, the fallen wonder of the world." –Don DeLillo, The Names
Somewhere among the terrains of Mongolia, a quiet valley laid deep between two vast mountain ranges. The land was made up of rolling grasslands with sparsely decorated forests. In the middle of the valley, there was a patch of flat land that had been the home of a very tiny village for many generations. The people who lived there were descendants of a community that had decided to take a chance and gave up their nomadic roots. The village borders were barely distinguished from the rest of the lands by the cloth-covered yurts that dotted the area. Fences, made up of mismatched pieces of flat wood, surrounded some of the homes and acted as pens for the collections of yaks and sheep that were the staples of the people's livelihood.
The yurts, while spread out from each other in random fashions, were all equidistant from a single structure, the center of the settlement. It was an old monastery, built with ties to Tibetan and Chinese architectures. The structure was raised up by a thin, stone platform. The walls of the monastery were stone bricks painted white. The green tiles of the sloped roofs were chipped and aged in some spots, but new and freshly painted in others. Four small temples, purely decorative and only seven feet tall, sat at each corner of the platform and surrounded the central structure. The main temple was two stories high and topped with a cone roof painted in green and gold. Large, diamond shaped holes dotted the main roof in a symmetrical pattern along every two rows of tiles.
As the sun began to rise, and the village people started their day, a woman climbed the short flat steps that led into the monastery. She was the oldest of her community, the mother of six others, and the keeper of the Monastery. The woman was clothed in layers of robes, frayed and colored by age and use. She had cared for the temple for decades, since it had been passed to her from her own mother, and cleaned it every morning. There were not many travellers that came through the valley to pray at the temple anymore. At the most, the village saw only a couple worshippers every other month. Still, she kept up with her duties, despite her age, and prepared the temple for those that wished to make the pilgrimage.
The woman entered the main temple and paused routinely just at the opening. She looked around the temple as she determined what needed to be done that day. The wooden floors, along the stone brick walls, needed to be swept and waxed. It had been at least a week since she had last seen them shine. The large number of candles, grouped together in shallow pots or secured into the walls, needed to be relit. The drapery that hung like separators between wooden statues had to be beat soon or she would never be able to get the dust that collected in them every day.
Her eyes began to inspect the wooden statues that lined two of the walls. There were six on each side, all of them of figures seated in the lotus position and only a few feet taller than herself, would have to be cleaned and waxed as well. She would bring her two daughters to do this. The girls were old enough to start their training to run the temple after her. They could also reach the tops of the statues better than she could.
Despite all she had to do, she took a few steps off the wooden floors and into the well-groomed patch of grass and stone they surrounded. At the center of the temple, in the exact middle of the meticulously planted grass and positioned stones, was a tall Bodhi Tree whose roots went deep beneath the foundations of the temple itself.
The woman sat herself in the lotus position before the tree and took a moment to close her eyes and breath. As the sun continued to rise, light began to filter in through the holes in the roof. The heart shaped leaves of the tree soaked in the shafts of morning sunlight and moved ever so slightly with the outside breeze.
The woman slowly opened her eyes and stood slowly to begin her day. She let her gaze wander towards the figure behind the tree. The last statue, far taller than the others, sat alone against the back wall. It depicted a woman, also seated in the lotus position, with a crown on her head, and what was supposed to represent one thousands arms. The statue was only made with twenty-two arms, ten outstretched on either side and two clasped together in a prayer form. The statues eyes were open and pointed down to her lap. The lips were carved to form an ever-lasting smile. The only part of the statue that was not made of wood was the small, spire-shaped stone placed in the chest of the statue, just above her folded hands. Guanyin was a vision of beauty and the woman would make sure her temple remained the same.
She walked over to a small closet and pulled out a few worn rags and a jar of waxy grease. She sat the items at the base of the statue nearest the opening of the temple in preparation for her daughters. The woman walked outside to call for the two girls but was stopped by a deep rumbling. She latched onto the stone arch of the doorway as the ground began to tremble. The area was prone to small earthquakes, but this was something else.
The earth shook with a building and constant force. The shaking rose, then stopped, just as suddenly as it had began. The woman stood right where she was and waited for a few moments. She did not hear any sounds of distress but scanned the village around her to see if any damage had been caused. Her eyes moved across the area before they cut back. The ground just a ways outside the farthest yurt had been upturned in a pile of dirt and broken rocks. The rest of the villagers moved out of their homes to assess any potential damage before a large, stone hand burst out of the pile. An arm, thicker than the woman's waist followed the hand and pulled the rest of its body from the dirt.
The creature stood tall, far taller than any person in the village, and was wider than two adult yaks. There were three, stumpy fingers on each hand and its feet had no toes. It leaned its disproportionately long arms and chest forward as if it were an ape that tried to walk upright. A second creature burst from the pile and joined the first before they both began to take slow, hulking steps that shook the earth. The old woman watched as they made their way towards the village and whispered a quiet prayer. She would never forget the burning red light of their glowing eyes.
Alex pushed herself out of the hinged window of the glass dome and crouched down to shut it. Her hand went down to touch the side of her right hip as the movement caused a slight twinge of pain. It had been two days since the bruise had appeared but it was still tender. It had taken her a fall and almost doing the splits for her to realize the skates needed to come off if she wanted to get up and away from the frozen pond.
After she had finally gotten off the ice and spent the rest of the day in Burgess, she was eager to get home and scour her books. She did not know where she knew the word Golem from, but it was probably something she had read about in passing some time ago. Alex did not have the best memory, hence the travel journal she always carried, and knew there was a chance she might have a book with the information she needed. Once the Great Pirate War at the Watts Residence ended, and Captain Benjamin had finally gotten to bed, Alex had rushed off to New York City to rummage around the hundreds of worn paper and hardbacks she owned.
She locked the window and straightened to stand on the roof of the warehouse. She looked down through the glass and could see about ten or so books that lay on her nest of a bed. It turns out that she had picked up the word Golem from one of her books. It was under the listing of Inanimate to Animate in a rather large book titled 'The Modern Witch: Innovations for the 19th century'. Disappointingly, there were only a few sentences of information available:
Golem (goh-limb; Hebrew)
An anthropomorphic being created from sturdy materials, usually stone or clay. Depending on the conjuror and the intended use, a typical Golem is designed with a vaguely human-like shape with functional hands and thick legs that descend into the feet for stability. Golems lack the ability to speak and only have enough intelligence to take the commands of its creator.
Alex was curious, not because of the Golems themselves (they just sounded like dirty snowmen to her), but she was interested in the person who made them. The book she had was intended for a person with magical abilities. She assumed that whoever was making the Golems was doing so with powers usually attributed to witches and sorcerers. Alex would love the chance to talk to some who practiced magic and discuss exactly how they liked to Dumbledore it up. She was also interested in where the power came from.
"So, what exactly are we doing?" Jack asked.
Jack, true to his word, had caught up with her two days after their venture into ice-skating. He had arrived at her window in the midst of her furious scavenge for more Golem information than she had been given. Alex had quickly stowed away any evidence of her search before she answered his rhythmic knocking against the glass. She had not talked to anyone relatively close to her age since before she became an immortal spirit and was eager to keep him around. She assumed asking someone for information about a conversation she had overheard, and was clearly not invited to, was still considered rude.
"Christmas shopping….sort of." she replied as they both took off into the air.
"Yeah, I got that the first time, but what I meant is why are we going to Mongolia to do Christmas shopping for a 12 year old?" Jack revised and then waved to the city below them. "You kind of live in one of the shopping capitals of the world. I don't think he'd mind if his present didn't have a 'Made in Mongolia' sticker at the bottom."
"The thing I want to get him is only in Mongolia, or at least the somewhere in the vicinity." she explained as they started their trek across the Atlantic. "Besides, I told you that you didn't have to come if you didn't want to."
"No, no, I definitely want to come. That way, when I officially meet Ben, I can tell him that awesome present he got for Christmas was partly from me."
"Wow, enticing a child to like you with a Phoenix feather. Not even Santa Claus would stand a chance as 'Favorite Guardian' with a present like that." Alex laughed.
"That was the plan." he smiled.
They continued along in silence as the skyline of the city slowly disappeared behind them. It took Jack a few moments to realize what she had said.
"Wait,…Phoenix? Like the legendary bird, Phoenix?" He said slowly, trying to see if she was joking. She was not. Her face kept its light smile and her eyes remained forward.
"So, why a Phoenix feather?"
"Sentimental reasons, really. He was very impressed with the one I had, so I figured I get him one to keep. Sort of like matching, mythological friendship bracelets. That way, when I'm gone for a few days, he won't think I've just up and left him for greener pastures." she explained.
"Does he really think you'd do that?" Jack asked.
"Probably not, but I think he might have a touch of separation anxiety. I'm hoping this will ease it."
Jack's mind went to Jamie and the large amount of papers the boy had posted on his wall. They were all drawn in crayon and featured some form of himself, whether it was him making ice for sledding or just him simply floating in the air. He briefly wondered if Jamie felt the same way about him that Ben did with Alex. Jack tried to think of something he could also give Jamie before his mind went back to their current object. All he could imagine a giant eagle engulfed in flames as it tried to catch them in its talons for snatching a few of its feathers.
"I'm sorry, I still can't get past the Phoenix thing."
"What's so hard to understand? We're getting a feather from a bird." she asked.
"What's so hard? It's a bird associated with fire and not dying. I don't think it'd appreciate us plucking its butt for a single feather."
"Well, firstly, we get a feather from the top of the wing. Those are the smallest and they're still as long as my arm. The ones from his tail are taller than you are." Alex laughed.
"Okay, so it's a very, very big, immortal fire bird."
"Secondly," she added quickly. " I don't think he'll mind, Moltres is really nice."
"You're on a first name basis with a fire bird?" Jack asked with a blank stare. "And I thought if I showed you the North Pole, you'd be impressed. How am I supposed to compete with that?"
"Whoa, hold on. You were going to take me to the North Pole? For real?"
"Well, I was. Sometime after Christmas when everything calms down, but now-"
"No, no! Are you kidding me? You have to take me to see the workshop!" Alex pleaded.
"An immortal spirit is besties with a Phoenix, and she's begging me to see a toyshop." Jack mumbled.
"Oh, come on! It's Santa's toyshop, not some bootleg store in a back alley of New York."
The pair crossed the Atlantic Ocean rather quickly and flew across land once they hit northern France. Alex was a bit worried about flying too far south. It may have been early winter for the northern hemisphere, but she wasn't exactly sure if Jack was made out of ice or not. She wasn't going to ask, of course. It seemed kind of rude to ask someone what they were made out of and if they would melt in certain temperatures. It snowed pretty hard at the height they flew at but, fortunately, the wind was at their backs. Alex had been forced to keep her hood up as they travelled. It was a lot colder than it had been in Canada almost a week ago.
Once they had flown about a thousand miles southwest of Moscow, Alex pulled a very detailed and neatly folded map from the front pocket of her bag. The ground, miles below them, was what Alex liked to consider a traditional winter landscape. There were no greens, browns, or any specific color other than white. It made it more difficult to see the variations in the earth, like mountains or valleys. She needed to make sure they were still on the right track. She liked to think that after 22 years of this, she was pretty good at reading maps.
"We're about halfway through this little top part of Kazakhstan." Alex pointed out to Jack, who flew close enough to her to keep the wind from snatching the map out of her hands. "Once we hit the mountains we'll be in Mongolia."
"Is there a giant nest we're looking for, or should I be watching for fire trails?" Jack asked.
"Well, the Phoenix is a nomadic creature. It doesn't really have a nest." she explained. "Mongolia is one of the least densely populated countries in the world. There's less of a chance to be spotted in places like this."
"So how are we supposed to find it?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. We'll hear it long before we see anything. It has this beautiful song that'll send chills down your spine."
Alex folded the map back into a small square and returned it to the safety of her bag.
"It's just weird that there's this giant bird that exists and no one's seen it." Jack said.
"Of course someone's seen it. Where do you think the myth came from? It used to fly all over the world." she explained. "But, over the last couple of centuries, humans started to venture into all the hidden corners of the earth. Could you image what would happen if the government of a first world country knew that a bird, known for its immortality, actually existed?"
They flew on for a few more minutes and shifted their altitudes. The snowfall increased in density the closer they got to the mountains.
"Anything you can do about this?" Alex motioned around with eyes narrowed against the snow.
"Not really, this is all Mother Nature. I could make it worse, if you wanted." Jack smiled. "Seems counterproductive, though."
"I would like you to know that I would be rolling my eyes if I thought the weather wasn't trying to blind me."
"Duly noted."
Both of them chuckled as the rocky terrain of the Altai Mountain range came into view. At the rate they flew, they would be in Mongolian air space in a couple of minutes. The conversation slowed as the wind noise picked up. Alex kept her eyes to the horizon as her mind began to wander back to this morning. Golems, what was the problem with Golems?
Or more importantly, she thought. Why did the Guardians think they were a problem?
She glanced at the boy next to her from the corner of her eye. It would be easier just to ask him about it, but the last thing she wanted to do was come off as nosey.
"So, how'd it go the other day?" Alex innocently tried to bring up.
"Hmm?"
"Your very important business meeting that the Easter Bunny dragged you to." she alluded. "There's not something wrong, is there?"
"Oh, uh, not really. Just…" Jack paused.
He was suddenly unsure if he should continue or not. Outside of his small amount of believers and the Guardians themselves, Jack had never talked to anyone about the details of his life. He had only been a Guardian for a little over four years, now, and rules about discretion had never needed to be brought up.
"Just?" Alex pushed.
She was someone who moved around the world frequently, he realized. If anything, telling her what was happening would benefit both of them. The Guardians would have another person on the look out for Golems, and Alex would not wander to close to the giant rock monsters trying to find out what they were.
"You know, you don't have to tell me if it's members only information. I promise I won't be offended." she added.
"No, it's, uh, probably fine." Jack started. "There's this tiny owl spirit came to us last week about a trinket of his being stolen by a couple of Golems."
"That's a Guardian problem?" Alex wondered.
"Not usually, but apparently it's linked to a few disappearances that have happened over the past few years. North wants us to be on the look out for rock monsters and Harpies." Jack explained.
"Harpies?"
"Yeah, they're like Pterodactyl birds or something. North said they'd be pretty obvious to spot."
They were quiet for a few moments as the mountains began to slope down below them. The snow slowly let up in its ferociousness before it stopped all together. Alex turned them south to follow a flat section of land between the mountains. The valley grew wider the farther south they went, and patches of green could be seen between the thinning white with growing intensity.
"How does a trinket relate to disappearances?" Alex asked suddenly.
"No idea, but North seems to think they do. He's up at the North Pole going through some scrolls the bird brought looking for information. He said they want to confirm their findings before we decide on what we need to do." he said.
"Scrolls, really? Like cliché ancient scrolls? Does your bird friend not believe in the protective power of hard-backed books?" Alex joked.
"To be fair, his hands are basically his wings. I'm not sure if he can hold onto a pencil….or, you know, write."
Alex laughed as Jack added, "It's kind of adorable, really. He's got these talons that are way too big for him and trips over them when he walks."
"You have no idea how much it amuses me that you find an old, nerdy owl cute and cuddly." she said when she was finally able to calm her laughs.
"I said adorable, not cute and cuddly. There's a difference. Just don't tell anyone I said-" he stopped suddenly as his eyes narrowed to the valley below them. "Uh, does this Phoenix of yours happen to leave trails of destruction behind it?"
"Not usually." Alex answered.
The valley stretched out until it was miles wide between the two mountain ranges. The land was mostly uninhabited by humans except for the small community below them. Villages like this, with temporary-like structures and a population of less than 100, were common in Mongolia. It seemed, however, as they dropped closer to the sight, that the village had been wiped out by some external force. Starting from a large, upturned pile of dirt and stone just outside the farthest man made structure, a path of destruction needled its way through the village.
Many of the snow-covered homes had been completely destroyed, as if they had been crushed in from the tops like deflated circus tents. A few were still up right, but were the remains of a fire that had moved through. Smoke rose high into the quiet air, and it was a wonder that there was not anyone moving around to help those in need. Alex really hoped it was because the village was evacuated, and not because of…well…
The sounds of a movement and falling debris had the two spirits back in the air again. The village was completely decimated, and there were no signs of life, except-
"There!" Jack pointed.
They landed in front of a still half standing structure, all white, stone blocks and green tiles. The stone, archway frame that served as a door was destroyed from the middle up, like something a lot taller had forced its way through the opening. There were no bodies on the ground outside and Alex really did not want to risk seeing what lay inside. She also knew that she did not want to meet whatever had caused all this destruction. Unfortunately, it seemed she had no choice in the matter. Heavy, thudding footsteps, like the slow beatings of a large drum, echoed from inside the half ruins and were headed for the archway exit before them.
The pair backed up and readied themselves for whatever they were about to face. Jack stepped in front of Alex and held his staff in front of them defensively, the wood glowing a bright white-blue. Alex's breath released in thin puffs of fog as the temperature around him plummeted.
The footsteps stomped closer to the pair, and Alex realized there was more than one set. Those feet definitely did not belong to a human. The ground shook with every pound. Parts of the still standing wall in front of them began to tilt and crumble as the owners of the footsteps pushed through the half remaining archway. Jack lowered his staff slightly at the sight of the creatures before them.
They stood up right on two legs and had no definable features. Their surfaces were smooth, save for a few cracks, and were a mix of different dark grays. They had no toes on their flat feet and had three fingers on each hand. The legs were too short and the arms far too long. Their bodies were hulking and bent forward like their chests were too heavy. These were creatures of pure earth and rock, and they towered over the two by a few feet. They had to be twice as tall as the two of them, and definitely wider. The only color the creatures held were in the two holes on their faces, Alex assumed they were meant to be eyes. Burning, red light shined from the sockets and formed thin, vein like scars around the area.
One of the creatures carried something in its hand. The object was also made of stone, but clearly a lot older than its current captor. It was no longer than Alex's forearm. It had four sides and came together at the top in a point. It kind of looked like a miniature version of the Washington monument.
The creatures paused in their slow movements to stare down at the two smaller spirits. They narrowed their hollowed eyeholes and the red light seemed to grow brighter.
"Uh, please don't tell me those are what I think they are." Alex pleaded, more to herself than to Jack.
Golems, with eyes like fire, stood menacingly before them. In one of their hands, they held an old, stone obelisk.
