Chapter III Írimë meets her destiny
She was annoyed because she had left her friend alone.
She would have preferred to stay by his side and fight with him. She knew that she would have been much more useful there, in the middle of the battle that at the top of that mountain.
What could the Jotun plan be? She was sure there was no plan.
Anyway, she decided to keep her promise and stay there until she seemed appropriate to go in search of Axe.
She pushed through the leaves that covered the front of this huge place and stopped before the imposing entrance. She did not have to cross her threshold to understand that it was celled with a spell.
She has heard the stories that told about the temples of the Jotnar. They worshiped their ancestors. They believed that they protected them from the other side, they were their guardians. And she as a guardian by nature, has always been attracted to those stories
She had her own wisdom, she knew that the souls of the living traveled to the Estancias de Mandos in her world, but she wondered where the souls of the Jotnar would go.
Axe had told her that she should enter the Temple, did not he know of the spell that guarded it? How was she going to get in if she could not get through?
She thought it was a good excuse to leave but suddenly a strange sound caught her attention, it was the muffled and sad cry of a baby.
She sharpened her ear and stood there by the side of the pillars that stood on either side of the huge opening of the Temple.
It was possible that someone else had taken refuge there.
And then she heard it again.
It was definitely the cry of a baby.
She moved a little closer to the entrance, she could feel the magic flowing in front of her.
Again the silence.
She thought that it was not a disconsolate weeping, it was not constant, it had seemed more like a tired weeping, exhausted from so much to be heard, it was the crying of someone who had surrendered to abandonment.
She did not understand well because she had that strange feeling. He could be with his mother and that's why he was not desperate. Even so, that was what conveyed that sound and did not ask again why.
Nor did she question why she gently extended her hand to the invisible barrier that guarded that entrance, which, as soon as it was caressed by the palm of the Istari's small hand, flashed in thousands of lights.
Then, taking a breath, she went back to the entrance and this time she raised both hands in the direction of that barrier of light that she could not see but that she knew was there.
she did not know the spell to break that spell but did not need to know it, because as soon as her two hands rested there, suspended in the air, as if pushing an invisible wall, the light flashed again and a small gap opened before her as Sediendo the step.
she had not uttered any spells, the barrier had opened before her as if he were waiting for her. For a moment she hesitated but then the courage returned to her soul and he walked inside.
she had not taken more than three steps when that luminous barrier flashed and closed again.
she was inside.
The Temple was imposing. It was illuminated by candles that burned everywhere, even in the cold of the stone, its flames remained lit as if by magic, there was definitely magic there and it was a protective magic, she could recognize it. Whoever was inside was being ported.
she walked hesitantly through the gallery that opened in her path. she looked at her sides and saw all those huge statuettes carved in the stone. They were beautiful. Hundreds of faces seemed to observe her from all corners.
she continued with a slow but firm step towards the center of the gigant place, she discovered that there was no one.
she frowned in confusion. It was not possible that there was nobody, she had heard a baby cry.
-Hello?
she dared to say and her voice resounded on the walls and produced a harmonious echo.
-Don't be afraid, I want to help you …
she kept saying, but nobody answered.
she stopped for a moment to observe that place more closely.
The Temple was huge but had no enclosures other than the one where she was standing. There were no tunnels or any door that would indicate that the site continued beyond those walls. If there was someone there he could not be far away.
she could not see anyone but she could feel the cold that enveloped her every time she was near a Jotun, who was there was definitely one of them and she was very afraid.
she could feel that in an intense way, that baby was very scared.
In a corner in the back of the room something called her attention. The entire enclosure was built of stone and the torch lights shone incandescently, illuminating almost the entire place except that corner that was almost in shadow.
írimë was attracted by the brightness of a huge plant that seemed to have its own light, still far from the flames its bright yellow color shines.
She had heard about that beautiful plant, in her world it was known as "Light that burns" because its flowers flashed with an extraordinary brightness and because with them an mixture could be made to heal wounds caused by fire.
For a little girl who knew magic, this was not an invention but she could not understand how that beautiful plant had withstood the cold of Jotunheim, much less the darkness of the enclosure. Definitely there was also some kind of magic operating.
She then approached, cautiously, to that place and saw that bright green leaves were piled up beside her stems. she knelt by the mound and when her little hand had moved closer to the leaves, she did not have to remove them to know what was under them.
Then with trembling hands she gently drew back the piled leaves to meet face to face with the weeping, weary face of a little baby Jotun.
His eyes were reddened but they were immensely blue, just like the eyes of all Jotnar but even brighter and sweeter. His skin was white as frost and was covered in concentric lines. He was definitely a Jotnar baby but much smaller.
The baby made a gesture that made him look even sweeter, tried to give her a smile.
Írimë covered her mouth with her hands. How was it possible that somebody had left that little boy in helpless baby? The Jotnar did not do those things, it did not make any sense.
The boy returned a sweet look, his eyes alternated in a flash of blue and green at the same time, they were beautiful.
Írimë took a few minutes to think.
That baby was there for a reason, someone had left for a good reason. she thought of all the possibilities.
And only one seemed acceptable. Maybe his mother or someone else decided to hide it because he or she was afraid that something bad would happen to him in that battle that was taking place downhill. He had made sure he was safe, every corner of the Temple was covered in magic.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a funny sound coming from the child's mouth, he was wanting to get her attention.
Írimë smiled sweetly and putting her hands carefully under the child, she joined him as delicately as she could. she brought him to her chest and looked at him closely.
He was definitely smaller than any Jotnar baby she had seen but much larger than any she had ever held in her world.
The eyes of both children were in the middle of that dark room and it was the beginning of something wonderful.
But first I will make a brief synthesis of the nature of an Istari.
For a long time, from the beginning of time and until its end, the Istaris had as sole mission to save the soul of a mortal who had interference in the course of the Universe. As Lady Estë had explained to Irime, they had to guard the souls of the inhabitants of Arda, that part of the world they shared with the Asgardians and that was an alternative dimension of what they called Midgard.
The souls of those moratales were chosen by Iluvatar, the One, the creator of all things.
Each Istari accepted their protege and joined him in a special way. An unbreakable link held them and both destinations united into one. The Istari took the shape of their protege immediately and remained at his side.
Once every so often, an Istari was allowed to choose his protégé, and once made, that union became as unbreakable as that of his entire species.
This union was powerful and its birth was produced as a burst of thousands of suns. An invisible bond united their souls with the strength of all the stars, enveloped them in light, and transported them through the air in a magical dance. Both could feel this, they were united forever.
Returning to the children in that Temple, Írimë was an Istari and at that moment, her soul decided that this little one would be her protege. She was not aware of whether his nature was linked to the destiny of the universe but she had decided that he would be the one she would take care of then.
Perhaps the power of her race was beyond the understanding of the girl and she had known that this was possible, even with the differences that separated her from the rest of the cases of her people.
The baby was not a mortal of Arda and she, who had long since taken the appearance of a Jotun, suddenly began to lose the pallor of her skin and each of the lines that had been drawn in it, she could not understand it but It had happened. She had left the giants appearance and although this saddened her a little, she accepted it, because she knew that one day she would understand.
That union was felt in every corner of her soul, her spirit shuddered in that encounter and she knew it was done, Iluvatar had accepted her choice.
she looked at the boy with sweetness and caressed his beautiful face.
-I have fear also…
Told him
-But we'll face it together … I'm here … with you …
she told him and little Jotun who had abandoned his sad and exhausted look, perhaps an effect of that feeling that had also reached him, smiled again.