Part I
2
Aletha traveled for nearly a day, her landstrider literally skimming through the Valley's terrain. The swamplands weren't so easy to transverse. Aletha had to let Fijj go around the swamps because the ground below was too mixed and muddy. The forest was full of living, breathing things. Odd creatures darted in and out. The ground would open up to only reveal the mouth of some stationed creature hoping to catch a meal. Bird-like animals flew from tree to tree, chirping in sounds that were reminiscent of a dying child.
Little, furry rat-like animals zoomed to the river to drink and then hide back in their burrows. Giant animals that were disguised as trees breathed harmlessly, yet loud enough for everything to hear. Salamander-like creatures fought amongst each other over territory or food supply.
This was the type of environment that my mother was raised in, thought Aletha. The Podlings taught her how to listen and to communicate with nature. I can barely do that. Even though the creatures paid the Gelfling no heed, Aletha enjoyed their loose companionship. She badly wanted to stay there, to listen to the calls of the animals, but she had other priorities at home. She had barely even visited the swamplands, knowing only how to cut across them as her mother taught her.
In the swamps, Aletha never felt completely alone. There were always creatures watching her, maybe even remembering that she was a Gelfling. All the strange animals appeared after a Great Conjunction nearly 1,000 years ago. After the Dark Crystal was cracked, chaos erupted throughout the Valley. The forests became alive, and the creatures came out of their hiding places. Life continued to evolve ever since, and the Valley's living beings flourished in a panorama of colors and odd behaviors.
The ground beneath Aletha's feet was boggy and unstable. She had some difficulty trying to lift her right foot over the other foot. Damn, she thought. I should have gone around like I told Fijj. Unfortunately, she wouldn't have been able to turn back now. Aletha stubbornly continued on through the mud path, brushing away the plant-like animals in front of her. After what seemed an eternity, there came an opening in the swamps. The ground beneath her became a little more firm, and was drier than the mud path that she had just taken. Trees and tree-like creatures still huddled around Aletha, preventing the Three Suns' light from breaking the canopy. Yet it was still bright enough for Aletha to see clearly.
"Huh?" Aletha gasped outloud. In the middle of the opening, there stood piled stones in straight formations nearly three or four times her height. She knew that those stones couldn't have been natural, as it would be odd to find giant formations in swamps that were naturally never there. Aletha went up to touch the stone spires. It felt cold to her touch, yet sparkled with the remaining light. "Sculpted Granite," whispered Aletha. Her father had taught her the different types of rocks found in the Valley, and Granite was one of the most common. Aughra had taught her that Granite was one of the most common building materials that the ancestral Gelfling had used. It was also very difficult to sculpt, but it was so common in the Valley, the Gelfling prospered its use.
There were very little Gelfling ruins left in the Valley; at least visible ruins, since the forests and swamps swallowed most of what remained of the old Gelfling houses and buildings. Pictograms lined all the way up one ruined spire, nearly 3 meters tall. There was no writing on any of the ruined formations, so there was nothing Aletha could read or translate from. The pictograms were very faint on the tall spire, yet Aletha could see they were pictures of Gelfling doing various activities. One scene caught her eye though. There were about four or five(not being able to clearly know since the stone was eroding) Gelfling figures running in an opposite direction. In back of those running Gelfling were giant figures, nearly twice the size of the victims, holding weapons that looked like spears and shields. Tall Gelfling? Aletha wasn't sure if that's what the big figures were supposed to be, but they looked nothing like Skekses or Garthim. The next pictogram scene showed the small Gelfling lying on the ground, impaled with the spears that were jabbed into them.
All Gelfling were a peaceful people, from what Aughra had told her. Aughra certainly knew since she was very old, and had lived through three Great Conjunctions. Knowing that her rendezvous had taken quite a long time, Aletha continued her straight path out of the swamplands. Some time later she made it out of the covered swamp, and saw that Fijj was waiting there for her. He had been feasting on a tall coniferous plant to pass the time by. Once again, Aletha mounted Fijj and they were on their way.
A day later, Aletha came upon view of the Castle. The giant fortress touched the sky, its outer white skin bathed in the radiance of the light from the Three Suns.