The Legend of Ajira

By Allison Nelson

Chapter 14: Taryngoth

"Well, are you ready?" Kark said slowly, almost silently.

The entire time Ajira had been in the Ashlander Camp she had been told to wait until she was ready. She lived in a world where everyone else looked down upon her and made her own decisions for her. Everything she wanted was always denied from her. Ajira had had a hard life in Zainab Camp; everyone was so different from her and corruption and prejudice reigned. And now, here she was, standing in the magically enlarged hut of someone she barely knew; she had been "chosen" by an ancient prophecy to save the land from an unseen evil, her father was dead, her mother was missing, and an angel was supposed to train her for her "destiny"! What was a Khajiit to do at a time like this? Why was she being asked if she was ready? All of the older, wiser ones, she thought, were supposed to make that decision for her! She didn't know what to say.

Ajira was feeling a little lightheaded, and she sat down on the ground to calm herself. She took a deep breath, searching the air for any hint of sarcasm or deceit in his voice. "Yes…" she said shakily, standing up. "I am ready!"

"That's good then, sweetpea," joked Kark, giving her a playful shove. "We'd better get started then! Come with me."

Nothing could have prepared Ajira for what happened next.

With a twirling motion of his hands and an incoherent jumble of foreign words, a swirling vortex of light and color appeared right in front of them. Ajira gasped. She had never seen her mom do anything like that! Kark smirked at her. Very calmly, he stepped through the glowing portal. "Kark?" called Ajira cautiously. "Can you hear me?"

A muted mumble came from the other side. "Yea, I hear you. Come on!"

"But what is this thing?" yelled Ajira into the portal. "What is it for?"

"This," said Kark proudly, "is an Interworld Portal, an 'ip', for short. It's one of the many advantages of being an angel. Nice, huh?"

"Sure," said Ajira slowly, with just a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "What do you mean, 'Interworld'? Is there really more than one world?"

"Absolutely! There are infinitely many worlds, all coexisting simultaneously on top of one another. As an angel, I have been to almost all of them. When I want to open up an ip, all I have to do is to think in my head what world I want to go to, and then it just opens."

"Ok, then…What world are we going to?"

"A very nice one, actually. Today we are going to Taryngoth. I think you will quite like it there."

"What's it like?" called Ajira.

"Step through and find out."

Ajira let a little sob out. "Kark, I'm scared."

"Come now, it'll all be fine. This is what's meant to happen. You would not have been chosen if you were not capable."

"I can't," whispered Ajira. "What if I can't get back?"

"You can. You will. I'm here, remember? I'm an angel. If I can't get you home, no one can, and I'm sure you will get home." Kark stepped back through the portal right in front of Ajira. He stared into her eyes deeply and put a furry paw on her shoulder. "It's fine."

Taking her paw in his, he led her through the portal confidently. Ajira felt a wild tingling sensation as she stepped through, and then the blare of the morning sun in her eyes. She put up a paw to shield her eyes before looking around at this new world.

Taryngoth, as Kark had said, was quite a respectable place. The grass was green, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining merrily. Butterflies were floating about on multicolored wings, and there were trees flanking the edge of the field, all bearing delicious-looking fruit. A sign right next to where they were standing read "Welcome to Taryngoth", and an ornate castle lay somewhere across the horizon.

"Wow," breathed Ajira, taking in everything she was seeing. "It's beautiful…"

"So are you," said Kark, staring at her.

"What?" asked Ajira, not daring to believe what she had just heard.

"Umm…err…uh, nothing. Nothing." Kark sighed.

"Right…" said Ajira slowly, but Kark's words still rang in her mind. She couldn't say anything, though. What could she say? Kark was an angel, and angels and mortals definitely didn't mix. They couldn't be in love, she knew it, but the pain of that just tore at her more. They were not meant to be together, it just couldn't be. Kark did not deserve her; he deserved another angel, just like him. Besides, what would the gods say? They would punish Kark and Ajira both if they found out.

Yet, somehow, she couldn't get him out of her head…