That Night Three Years Before
Part II – Struggle
Alerya sneezed, wiping her nose surreptitiously with the back of her hand, and sprinted the final hundred yards through the blinding rain to the Sanctum. It seemed Felix had been right after all, and the storm above Mt. Aleph did pose a threat to the inhabitants of Vale. As soon as Elder Jaina had recognized the danger she'd sent her young apprentice to warn and ask the rest of the Elders for help. Gritting her teeth Alerya yanked open the door; she did not know for how much longer Elder Jaina could hold out her psynergy alone. She needed help, and fast.
Soothing warmth and full lantern light washed over her in a comforting wave as she stepped inside; Alerya sneezed again, the door clicking softly shut behind her. The Elders were seated in a precise circle in the center of the room, each with their hands folded neatly in their lap, grim expressions on every one of their faces from Elder Sarre's smooth youthful features, to the High Elder's: gnarled and bony. Alerya was suddenly very conscious of the nine curious pairs of eyes resting on her inquiringly.
"Ah, Alerya, Elder Jaina's apprentice, you have returned," The High Elder, known more commonly as the Great Healer, spoke quietly, rising slowly to his feet, "but where, may I ask, is Elder Jaina?"
"Up at the base of Mt. Aleph," Alerya replied hurriedly, pushing back her damp hood to reveal her short mass of yellow hair, slick with rain water, "Felix was right it seems, about something dangerous going on at Mt. Aleph. There's a giant boulder perched on the ledge directly above the village, it's got to be at least twenty-five feet tall. Elder Jaina's up there, preventing it from crashing down on Vale with her psynergy, but I don't know how long she can hold it on her own. She sent me for help 'cause if that boulder breaks free it could destroy half the village!"
The rest of the Elder's were on their feet as she finished, and their grim expressions had only deepened as they listened to Alerya speak. She glanced uneasily around the room, waiting for someone to speak, to react to her dire message.
The Great Healer took a deep breath before replying, "Thank you Alerya, you have done well. Elder Samuel, take five others with you and go help Elder Jaina at the foot of Mt. Aleph. Elder's Sarre and Jaysan, and you too Alerya, wake the villagers. Everyone must be warned and evacuated to the plaza immediately."
The cold rain poured down from the sky, soaking Garet completely to the skin despite the thick water resistant cloak spread across his shoulders. Hunching low as if to escape the endless down pour of rain he hurried on through the mud and wind, downcast amber eyes fixed on Isaac's mud covered feet two paces before him. He and Isaac, his long time friend, were heading for the safety of the plaza, under strict orders from the Elders of Vale to evacuate the town.
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Garet shivered as another blast of icy wind whipped at him, throwing another wave of freezing rain into his face. He cursed and quickly shook the irritating drops of water out of his eyes. It seemed much more than barely fifteen minutes ago to the flame haired mars adept that he'd been asleep and warm in his own bed with his family. His parents, and Alaena and Erran, had all retreated to the safety of the plaza where his grandparents lived as soon as Alerya, the girl he'd secretly harbored a crush on for many years, had issued the warning from the Elders. Garet, being the stubborn adolescent that he was, had let his family leave him behind to foolishly, he now realized, try to save some of his more precious belongings. That was where Isaac had found him, attempting to wrestle a large chest of valuables through the hazardous thunderstorm. His friend had immediately grabbed Garet by the wrist and towed him none too gently away from the chest, lecturing him on the stupidity of his actions. Garet hadn't argued, following his best friend away from the dangers of northern Vale toward the safety of the plaza.
Isaac's feet slowed and came to an abrupt stop in front of him, causing Garet to pull up sharply. "By Venus!" He heard Isaac mutter as he stepped up beside his yellow haired friend, peering through the thick curtain of rain, "why does this have to happen now, to us?"
Garet blinked as his eyes took in for the first time what Isaac was seeing, "Man," He groaned in disgust, "our path, I repeat, our path, not anybody else's, just happens to be blocked by a random landslide when we are in a threatening life and death situation, not any other time, but now!"
He noticed Isaac's deep sapphire eyes roaming thoroughly over the large pile of rock and storm debris, as if searching desperately for a way over, or around. There seemed to be none that Garet could see. Isaac sighed in annoyance, "We'll have to hurry Garet, from now on. I do know another way, but I don't know if we will make it in time. We must try though; we have no other choice."
Nodding his head, Garet replied seriously, "I'm game Isaac, if you are."
With a curt nod of his head Isaac turned on his heal, and was off in the other direction, the misty curtain of water slowly closing around him. Garet hurried to catch up before the rain enveloped Isaac entirely.
Isaac was silent as he led Garet on through the storm, back past their houses, clustered at the northern end of the village, the driving wind forcing them to slow their steps as they walked against it and the rain. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, and Garet jumped each time it did, cursing himself for acting like a tiny child afraid of the dark. The steep slope Isaac led him down, he guessed it was an alternate route to the blocked flight of steps leading down the sheer cliff face the Waterfall of Vale cascaded down, was slick with ice and mud. He did not know how Isaac did it, but his feet managed to flip out from under him more than once, sprawling him flat in the mud, while Isaac strode serenely down the slope, seemingly ignorant of Garet's troubles. He guessed it had something to do with Isaac's elemental power being earth, while Garet's happened to be fire, the complete opposite of the storm assaulting Vale.
"We should be nearing places you'd recognize Garet," Isaac said off-handedly, glancing back at Garet's mud covered form.
Garet stared around himself wearily, recognition finally dawning in his bleary eyes, "Yup, we're near Felix and Jenna's place now aren't we?"
Isaac nodded, sarcasm practically dripping off his tongue, "How observant of you."
Garet rolled his eyes toward his friend's back, "It's not my fault if I was too tired to 'observe thoroughly', and especially after being awakened like that in the middle of the night! That little path of yours really is handy though, especially in a time like this," Garet added in a grim voice, "We really need to hurry before that boulder or whatever it was comes crashing down on us. Alerya sounded almost as if she were fighting off a severe case of hysterics when she wakened us. I think this threat to the village is real, and it won't wait for us to clear out either."
Isaac was nodding. A stab of fear ripped through Garet as the loudest peal of thunder yet cracked through the village. He winced; his heart was threatening to erupt from his chest. "W-we need to move on now Isaac," he tried to control his voice, but wasn't quite sure if he succeeded entirely, "I-it's definitely not safe anymore."
"I agree," Isaac replied, stepping off into the mist once more, "let's go Garet."
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The river roared treacherously at Kyle's left, a demon of terror out to suck it's victims under with one foul move and devour them mercilessly. His lips formed a grim line as he strode cautiously through the stormy night. The harsh wind, utter darkness and intense rain pressed roughly on him from all sides, distorting his vision hopelessly and causing him to have to use his entire conscious mind to concentrate on where he placed his feet lest he find himself flat on his face in the mud.
When the monstrous storm had first struck, Kyle had treated it like any other storm, hurriedly shutting all the windows opened to catch a lingering breeze from the unusually warm and sunny afternoon. It had not been but fifteen minutes later however, as the storm had accumulated to a deadly crescendo, a thing of destruction, when he'd felt something strange in the earth beneath his feet, pulsating steadily from Mt. Aleph where the storm had originated. He knew immediately that something was wrong. As he had neared the Sanctum after venturing stubbornly into the storm he'd encountered young Alerya who was of an age with his son Isaac and apprenticed to Elder Jaina, sprinting wildly through the night, fear encrypted in her captivating green eyes. Stopping her he'd learned from the desperate girl of the pressing matters taking place at the base of Mt. Aleph. Moments later he'd left the terrified girl behind, and sprinted through the numerous arches leading to the foot of Mt. Aleph. There he'd found an exhausted and almost entirely drained Elder Jaina struggling to push back the giant village-destroying boulder threatening to crash down on Vale on her own, and immediately he'd added his own psynergy to hers. It must have only been ten minutes later, though it felt like a prolonged age to an exhausted Kyle, that six new, refreshed Elder's arrived, allowing Kyle and Elder Jaina, both completely drained of any usable psynergy, to release the boulder to the rest of the Elders. After escorting Elder Jaina who appeared practically asleep on her feet back to the Sanctum safely Kyle knew his job was far from over.
As he had rounded the corner of the moderately sized home he shared with his wife and son he had encountered them both exiting the darkened building clad heavily in warm woolen garments and thick cloaks stout enough to ward off the coldest of winter nights. Kyle had smiled, recognizing the work of his wife who utterly detested the cold. Quickly exchanging news with Dora who had immediately rushed off to aid the Elders with what power she had, though he wished she had not, and sending Isaac off to the safety of the plaza, he'd hurried on determinedly, warning those whose homes he encountered as he walked of the imminent danger atop Mt. Aleph. He was heading for the southern part of the village along the river.
Kyle shook the cold rain from his eyes, blinking to clear his head from the booming crash of thunder that had just ripped across the night. He froze as he did, before stepping cautiously forward once more. He could've sworn he'd heard a voice calling out weakly, desperately, over the terrible roaring of the river. Standing rigid he listened again and heard the cry once more, a definite call for help. Kyle frowned, and followed the sound, struggling to locate the origin of the shout above the raging wind and rain and thunder. The river rushed and gurgled, entire banks collapsing into its swirling, muddy depths as if beckoned, and right in the center of it all was the hazy figure of a boy, clinging for dear life to the final remaining support beam of an old river hut built over the water which had been washed away many years ago. So, was Kyle's grim thought as his mind began to race in terror, the demon has already struck.
"Help!" The boy screamed again, struggling to raise his face to the sky for only an instant, but even that instant was long enough for Kyle to recognize him in a mind numbing moment. The river's victim was Felix, a boy he knew very well. Felix was like a second son to him, and a very good friend of Isaac's. He could feel his chest tightening in fear as he stared at the terrified young boy surrounded by the churning, icy waters of the deadly river. His fear only escalated into a calm panic when he realized his psynergy was completely drained; he had no way to help the boy. Struggling to reign in his terror he pushed himself through all the possible ways of escape for Felix. He had to help the boy in someway; he had to get him out of the river!
"Felix!" He shouted above the rocketing wind, shivering at the cold rain that soaked him to the skin, "I'm going to get help! Just hold on a little longer!"
The boy in the middle of the river did not reply.