Chapter Thirty-Two: The Light Is Going Out
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~ Narnia ~
Slowly, the door opened, and the figure of a man emerged from the interior of the earthen entrance. The figure was tall, but not as straight and slender as the girl's. He carried no light, for it seemed to come from him, hovering around him in aura-like fashion, as Lucy had seen with Arran, Gavan, Zephyr – Coriakin, too, for an instant – and now Liliandil. It was not as bright, though, and something about the soft silvery light felt old, wise, and quiet, but dignified. The old man, for that was what he seemed, came closer, and as he did, they could discern his appearance better.
His hair was silver; his silver beard fell to his bare feet and his straight silver hair tumbled down his back to brush the hem of his silvery-white robes as he walked. The robes he wore were simple but fine, made from sheep's fleece, it seemed, though Lucy and a few others guessed it was some other material that only looked like fleece. He walked slowly and deliberately, not shuffled and unsure in his step like the many elderly people Eustace had seen occasionally. When he reached them, he said nothing, merely stared at them each in turn, before moving, with his back to the travelers, to face the paling eastern sky with arms outstretched. Liliandil followed suit, and in that pose, both began to sing.
Edmund, Eustace and Lucy, later talked at length about the song sung in the high language of the Stars. It had been beautiful, perhaps a bit shrill, Eustace conceded, but just what he had thought it might sound like when he'd been a dragon, and had heard Arran laugh. Edmund admitted he had thought it rather cold and lonely in its beauty; a morning kind of song; but the others always countered his remark by saying that Stars were an unusual, mysterious race, and many things about them were cold and indifferent, though beautiful, always beautiful.
As they sang, something began happening in the east. The sky lightened, the grey clouds dissipated and became white, and the frail yellow rays of the sun struggling to rise above the ocean's watery bed grew stronger and golden, fuller and brighter, as if something in the song gave the large sphere new resolve to rise into the sky. The east went from grey-white to red and gold, and the rays struck the clouds, turning them purple, red, orange, and gold. As the company from the Treader watched, a beam of light found its way from the ocean's surface of silver, and its long, level ray shot down the length of the table on the gold and on the silver, before finally alighting upon the Stone Knife.
As they had been sailing into the east, closer to Ramandu's Island, the sailors and the monarchs had, from time to time, speculated if the sun was growing larger and brighter as they drew on towards the End of the World. This time there was no mistaking the brightness and greatness of the sun. The rays were strong, and the sunrise was the most powerful they had seen. Edmund wrote about it later, mentioning in passing how there were many things on the voyage that sounded more exciting than this one, but how that moment was more important and exciting than all the others combined, because it meant they truly were nearing the End of the World, one step closer to Aslan's Country.
As everyone watched the Stars and tried to watch the rising of the sun without becoming blinded, they noticed something. Something seemed to be flying from the very center of the rising sun, but since none of them could look steadily in that direction, they couldn't make positive this speculation. All at once the air became full of voices, wild, jubilant voices that took up the same song as Liliandil and her father but in a far wilder tone and in a language no one could understand, not even Arran, Gavan and Zephyr.
In minutes or hours - no one kept track of the time - the owners of these voices could be distinguished as they began alighting on the island. They were birds; birds so large and white that everything they covered soon blurred and blunted and looked more like a snowy landscape in a painting than a hall, a table, and ruins. Lucy laughingly allowed two of the gentle creatures to alight on her head and shoulders. When she managed to look between their fluttering wings and bobbing heads, she caught a glimpse of a single bird, much larger than the rest, with a few golden feathers in its wings and down, hovering in the air before the old man and setting some bright little coal or berry upon his lips.
She did not have long to dwell on this, for all at once, the birds stopped their singing, and it was very quiet around the Stars and the Narnian company. The only thing that could be heard was the soft clatter of dishes and the whoosh of wings as the birds descended upon Aslan's Table. When next the company could set eyes on it, after the birds once again rose in the air, it had been picked clean. The Narnians soon realized that anything that could not be eaten or drunk had been carried away in the birds' talons. They watched the great white birds take flight and return silently to lands beyond the sun. When the Narnians turned to the table, it was clean and empty; not even a candelabrum could be seen.
"Welcome, ones who have traveled far; I trust your journey has been no easy task, yet here you stand. I commend you that though you have faced temptation, you stood against it. Perhaps all that follows will not be so challenging a task as I forethought it to be." The old man dressed in silver turned and spoke to them, his voice wise with the knowledge of ages.
"You were one who has the gift to foretell the future, Alaaron?" Gavan asked, coming forward; he had not missed the old one's words. When the Stars had begun singing, he and his brothers had appeared deeply moved, like people who listen to Bach or Mozart sometimes are; for a moment, they were as awestruck as their mortal companions, a rare feat.
"I know many things, some present, and some yet to be," the old man admitted vaguely. "But you three, you are unusual. How strange that Stars–" he broke off and stared hard at them for several seconds. "You are sons of Light and sons of Eve? Few of your kind I have met, and the few I have, have fallen prey to the faults of mortal men. You have taken a great risk in what you do for this company. But, perhaps your will find what you are truly meant to be," the old man reasoned, though his words were rather callous.
"Sir, we have been instructed by Aslan to lay seven blades at Aslan's Table; we must defeat a great evil, which takes the form of a green mist. What must we do?" Caspian raised his voice, walking toward the old man. They had taken the three weapons from the sleeping Lords; Eustace, Rynelf and Rhince held them now.
The old man stared hard at the company, his gaze searching. "You are missing the seventh blade." He did not ask a question, because he knew. Caspian nodded.
"Do you know where it is, where it can be found?" Caspian asked.
"Yes," was the reply. "Follow me." The old man turned. Pausing, he held out his arm for Liliandil, who took it and walked beside him into the ruins, their light shining on the overgrown, ancient path. Caspian glanced at Edmund before following after the two strange beings. They needed answers, and he was willing to go any length to get them, even trusting those he did not know. Behind him, Lucy, Edmund, Serene, the Stars, and Susan came as well.
~|:Xo0oX:|~
"The item you seek, which will once again restore all the ocean, lies within Dark Island, the island of many names, a land of a thousand darkness's, of ten thousand deaths. A more deadly place I have not encountered in all my years, save for the battle betwixt immortals. It is the last place I would think to send a noble company such as yours. But go you must; what is to come of you, I, even I, cannot see." As Ramandu spoke he raised his arm and pointed into the distance. Not many leagues from the island they stood on lay a great gap of black in the brightening horizon, as if a stain of ink had fallen over a section of a beautiful painting. Even from that distance they could all see the green mist rising from the island eerily.
"I could not have fathomed it," Zephyr whispered, taking in the scene before him. No one could take it in; it was not what they had expected. Even from this distance it looked like a nightmare.
"What a great evil it must be to have purged the purity and light from the land it inhabits," Serene remarked, coming forward to better look at the strange land lying further east.
"Aye. I knew Nithalazaar; it is painful to know that he has let such darkness devour him whole. His confusion consumed him, took advantage of his weaknesses, and overpowered him. Were his parents here, they should fall to pleas of mercy and tears to repent. I thank the Great Lion he is not yet strong enough to release his vindictive spirit unto Lumea. But if he obtains these swords – obtains your souls – he just might." Ramandu turned to Caspian.
"These swords, we must lay them at the table, come!" With a flash of his robes, the old man returned to the path that led to the hall.
Everyone followed him quickly. He walked past the sailors, who parted like vines in the wind to give him passage to the far end of the table. With quick fingers, he pulled the vines and hair away from the center of the table that they covered, revealing a sharp, ancient, cruel-looking knife of stone, which made Lucy shiver to behold. When the old man's fingers brushed it, he blanched but continued clearing the vines; Caspian and Edmund moved to help him pull the remainder from the surface.
"Lay the blades down, touching the points to the knife, quickly now!" Ramandu ordered, pointing sharply, the cuff of his robe swaying with the force of his gesture. Caspian laid a sword down, Rezef's. Its gems flashed a brilliant gold for an instant, and then the whole sword, from blade to hilt, turned vibrant blue. Edmund thrust Gwyrdd next to it, motioning for Eustace to bring him another; Caspian did the same. When all the swords had been laid in a circle, the light was nearly as bright a blue as Liliandil's glow.
Edmund cast a glance at Caspian, who looked down at Rhindon sheathed at his side. Slowly, he removed it, but the blade, which had glowed a light blue next to Gwyrdd in Narrowhaven, and when next to the other blades, was dark. Both frowned, confused. Ramandu noticed their interaction and took a step in Caspian's direction. "What are you looking at?" he asked, his tone grave with the situation but characteristically uncurious. He didn't have time for Men's games.
"Nothing, sir," Caspian replied, sheathing the blade with a snap of metal on metal and meeting his stare briefly before looking away, his gaze passing over Edmund's. He was just as confused at the phenomenon.
"Hmm," Ramandu answered in reply, momentarily studying them while running his fingers over his silver beard. He then turned and began walking away, as if he was no longer going to trouble over the mortals from Narnia who were to try and vanquish the darkness that was growing on the east-lying island.
"Sir, how do we break the enchantment upon these men? I don't know if they would thank me for doing such, but it must be done, for Aslan gave me leave to discover their fate and recover them, if I could. Can I not still try to save them?" Caspian asked, watching the old man walk away.
"That task is more difficult than defeating the mist, King of Narnia. Are you so quick to pledge yourself to undo what lies as fair justice for the villainous behavior these brutes thought to do one another? They may be your fellow man, but they are not mine, and I have seen what men like they can do with hate such as I saw in their hands." Ramandu's words were spoken with the indifference that was frequent of his race. Men he would help, advise, even but had utterly no loyalty to.
"I remember them from when I was a boy and know that they are not as evil as you think; perhaps time and consideration for them as men instead of as objects would return them to a more even state of mind," Caspian replied firmly.
"Spoken like a true Telmarine but also a righteous king. Very well then, I shall tell you: to break the enchantment lying over these men, you must find the seventh sword and lay it among the others; then, you must sail to the end of the world and one of your party must venture on into the utter east, never to return. Friendships will be sacrificed, tested, and brought to an end," Ramandu declared solemnly.
"Do you know how to get to the end of the world; do you know of any other dangers we might encounter to get there?" Caspian ignored the insult to his heritage, ignored the praise, and ignored the warnings, hoping there was something more the old man might be able to tell them.
"I saw everything that lay to the east; I saw what was and what would be. But that was thousands of years ago, and time has changed what I once knew. You shall have to discover what lies ahead for yourself; I cannot aid you."
"What do you mean you saw everything; were you flying?" Eustace blurted out, forgetting that the man was a Star and disinclined to answer any questions he didn't like asked. But Eustace hadn't been able to quite grasp the understanding of Stars and hoped that this would be his chance to become enlightened.
"I was a long way above the air, son of Adam," the old man replied, a hint of a smile appearing through his beard. "I am Ramandu of the eastern sky. But you stare at one another in confusion, and even you, sons of Light and Eve, do not know my name. I do not wonder at it, for the days I was a star have ceased long before any of you knew this world, and all the constellations have changed."
"So, he's a retired Star," Edmund mused under his breath, staring with renewed interest at the old man before him.
"Aren't you a Star any longer?" Lucy asked, her voice softening with just a hint of pity. Gavan, standing a ways off with his brothers, could not help smiling at her sympathy for someone she had only just met.
"I am a Star at rest, my Queen," Ramandu answered with dignity, bending at the waist slightly in semblance of a bow. When his eyes swept over the party, they met Edmund's for but a moment. "Not 'retired,' Just King, but at rest." Edmund started when the voice entered his head but relaxed when Ramandu's steady gaze lifted.
"In our world – my cousin's and mine –" Eustace motioned to the Pevensies, "a star is just a huge flaming ball of gas." He hadn't mentioned this to Arran, because he thought it might offend him or set his erratic temper on edge. Now, he felt like he might get it off his chest without anyone becoming angry.
"Even in your world, my son, that is not what stars are, but only what they are made of. And if my memory serves me aright, you have already met a Star in this world. Coriakin, the Magician." Ramandu looked at them with a bit of curiosity.
"Truly?" Lucy asked eagerly. She remembered thinking he had looked a great deal like Gavan and his brothers.
"Did he not talk with the half-bloods; did they not radiate light as proper Stars should?" Ramandu asked, turning to the three young men who stood off a ways, watching. Arran straightened, his temper flaring at the old Star's words.
"We're just as proper as you," he hissed angrily, coming forward. "We may not have as pure a silver bloodline as others, but we are not imperfections!" As he walked closer to Ramandu, the same red aura Lucy had seen in Coriakin's library became evident around his form like a dusky haze.
"And yet only we can bring out your light when you have been long from the sky," Ramandu murmured with what sounded like a mocking sympathetic tone of voice, though his composure remained neutral. Arran stopped, looking away. Still the truth hurt after all these years. Zephyr closed his eyes; the sigh he uttered was barely audible. Always, always it seemed they would face hate from the most ancient of their people. With mortals they had no place, but with the immortal, the same could be said.
"So susceptible to the emotions of your mortal half, how embarrassing that must be for you; you can never be indifferent." Now the Star was just being cruel, and the others who had thought the hate between half-Stars, like Arran and his siblings, and full Stars, such as Ramandu, could not be so terrible, knew it nearly bordered on war.
"At least our kind never tried to become greater than Aslan as Coriakin and others of his ilk did!" Arran replied to the snide remark, earning a deep frown from Ramandu for his words.
"Be silent, young Star! I have lived more years than you can fathom and know more of magic and its power than you could contemplate, do not cross me I was with the Great One when those foolish enough to think they could be stronger than Aslan waged their war! I was there when our race was driven from the lands of the sun and the breach between Aslan's Country and our night sky was made; don't think I don't know what agony they caused us who were faithful to the Great One to endure!" Ramandu thundered, moving rapidly toward Arran, the silver light emanating from his form growing brighter, like the light Lucy had seen flash around Coriakin for an instant.
"Forgive me, Alaaron, but neither do I relish being crossed. When one of my people insults me, I will defend my heritage, just as you defend your place in the war between immortals," Arran said contritely, though his anger was far from abated.
"Yes… As is right. I, too, owe apology; I allowed my prejudice to precede me; forgive me also," Ramandu admitted after a long pause of silence.
"Certainly, Alaaron," Arran answered, though he stared at Ramandu with caution from that moment on.
The Star composed himself and turned back to the party. But now there were more questions from the Pevensies.
"What did Coriakin do?" Lucy asked, the words said in anger by Arran appalling her.
"Why did the Stars think they could be greater than Aslan?" Edmund asked, frowning. Caspian tried to remain unconcerned, but the shock and bewilderment in his eyes betrayed him. Susan stared at Ramandu and Arran with something close to horror on her face while Serene chocked back a sound of surprise; this tale she had not heard.
"It is not for mortal Men, sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, to know what faults a Star can commit. But know that Coriakin is not who he was; Aslan knows his sins and knows his change of heart; you need not fear him. Now, are you resolved? Will you defeat the mist, find the final sword, sail further east and leave one of your company behind to return no more, and so break this enchantment? Or will you, like any mortal, turn back westward and let this darkness fester and grow?" Ramandu watched them expectantly.
~|:Xo0oX:|~
While the others deliberated upon what Ramandu had put before them, Liliandil came around to the three half-Stars. "Forgive my father, but the only half-bloods he has ever known have been betrayers and bearers of deceit. I am sorry you made it thus far only to be ridiculed by an Elder of our people," she said in sympathy.
"You mean Nithalazaar has made bitter the taste of our kind to his mind," Arran replied sarcastically.
"No! You must give him time. He was suspicious of you, but you gained small favor in his eyes by standing up for yourself and then asking forgiveness while still remaining strong." Liliandil tried to pacify the angry pirate, but Arran had been hurt. His father had always told him and Durken – later the others – that they would be hated by some of their people for the darkness of mortal red in their blood, but he had tried to deny it until this moment.
"Do you honestly expect that to pacify me? I have never been taken for a fool or a simpleton, Alaara, and I will not be tempered by soft words now! Your father, as great a vornla as he is, has insulted me, my family, and my father. I cannot stand back and accept peace where none exists. He only cooled his anger because he does not think mortals should know that Stars, however beautiful and immortal, also have their vices and flaws." Arran turned away from her and walked toward where Caspian was talking with the Pevensies, Serene, Drinian and Eustace.
"Please, I know that my brother will not take back his words and that he is angry, but I offer apology. And I shall accept yours; I always knew we would have days of opposition like this from others who believe half-bloods are corrupt to the night sky and are thought imperfect," Zephyr spoke up, nodding and smiling at Liliandil.
"I think that perhaps Aslan allowed those of Light and those of Adam and Eve to dance in the night sky because he wishes saranla and vornla learn your kindness and consideration. Too long have we remained indifferent to those below us, treading our paths in the constellations and setting into the east when our dance is ended; we have forgotten compassion and care. To return that to us would be a great accomplishment indeed," Liliandil replied, mirroring his smile.
"I don't know if we could do that. Too often our mortal feelings conflict with our immortal; most of my family is a perfect example of that. Arran does not know if he wants to be Star or human; he wants of two worlds and refuses to choose. My youngest brother loves a mortal, but I fear that the only thing he loves is the call of her magic. And I feel lost; I do not know my place in the design of all things; I do not know what Aslan wants of me. So I came on this voyage to perhaps find a fraction of my true worth," Zephyr admitted, sighing.
"Perhaps that is your worth. I serve as guide to those with honest hearts; otherwise, I have naught a power like many of our kin. Of course, I am able to use magic, but I am not like my father, who can foretell the future, nor like your brothers who can grant thoughts and wishes, even if only in a dreamlike state. Your gift is valuable, for you can never be lost. For the first time, I have met someone who does not need my guidance. It is a good thing, Zephyr," Liliandil lightly rested her hand on his arm in reassurance before turning to the table and those standing around it.
Zephyr watched her a moment before straightening and joining his friends. Perhaps she was right; he did not need guidance from his kin like others did; he could do things they could not, and perhaps that was his purpose, to help others who needed him. His brothers might not be destined to help the Stars, but he just might. And that made the lost, wandering feeling ache a little less.
~|:Xo0oX:|~
Caspian looked each one of them in turn, waiting for their answer to the question Ramandu had put to them. "What will we do, go east or return to Narnia?" he asked, trying to keep his voice indifferent and calm, though he felt like getting the answers from them as fast as possible.
"I think we should go; we came to defeat the mist anyway, and we've come this far; to turn back would be less than honorable, which is what Reep was going to say," Edmund declared, grinning for an instant at the mouse standing near their feet.
"Yes, that is what I would have said; there's no honor in turning tail when you've been sent by Aslan!" the Mouse added fervently.
"I think we should go, to break the enchantment and also to free those poor people we watched become sacrifices in Narrowhaven," Lucy agreed.
"You promised Rhince you'd help him find his wife, and we've come so far that I think it's too late to go back, Caspian," Susan said, resting her hand on his arm.
"We've seen monopods, you've been taken as slaves, and broken a few enchantments already, I don't think turning back now, after all that, would be very wise," Drinian concurred with a comradely smile at his friend.
"But what of the one we must send to the Far East who will never be allowed to return? It cannot be I, for I have already passed from this world. Who will go, while the others remain behind?" Serene put to them the question they had not wanted to think about. Now, they had no choice but to speculate.
They were quiet after she had spoken, until Reepicheep raised his voice. "It is, and has always been, my heart's most fervent desire to sail east. I will go; I am old, I have lived many wonderful years here on Lumea and Narnia, and I am ready to depart from this world." He stared up at them with earnest brown eyes.
"But, Reepicheep, y–you can't, you just can't!" Lucy's voice rose. She did not like to think of the brave Mouse who had helped her, her siblings, and Caspian fight for Narnia's freedom as being old or ready to pass from Narnia.
"Queen Lucy, you are never more certain of something after you have lived a life such as mine. Or, as the great poets and bards sing: you are never more alive as when you are about to die. Whether or not I go to the End of the World, I will die someday; why not now, when I can give my life for something instead of at home in my bed?" Reepicheep smiled, his white whiskers twitching.
"You're sure?" she asked softly, looking down at him, wondering when he had gotten those grey streaks in his brown fur and when his whiskers had turned so white.
"Quite. I have dreamed and pondered upon this my whole life, and now it finally is within my paws to have and understand. I am ready. Caspian, I'll be the one to go to the Far East and never again return," the Mouse stated, turning from Lucy to look up at Caspian.
"Then go you may, and I thank you for all your aid." Caspian straightened, smiling at the Mouse.
"Well, I told you I would not fight an unarmed man, but I think letting you live was not a mistake," Reepicheep replied with a knowing wink before darting off.
"Ramandu, we have an answer to your questions," Caspian said, raising his voice as he turned back to the Star, trying to sound certain of himself and the decisions they had arrived at.
"Well, speak then, tell me what you have decided," Ramandu answered, waiting.
"We will defeat the mist, recover the seventh sword, break the enchantment, and then we shall sail to the east and leave one of our party behind. We will not turn westward and leave Narnia and Lumea to a fate that is possibly as dark as that island lying toward the east," Caspian replied slowly.
"Good, you have chosen your fate well. May Aslan always go before you, sons of Adam, daughters of Eve. May you fail not." Ramandu stepped back and to the side, motioning for them to pass him. Everyone, sailors and monarchs both, walked past the Star, eager to return to the Dawn Treader, and even though they knew what they were to face, thought that that was better than staying on this island of ruins from ages long since passed.
Ramandu grabbed Arran's arm as the Star moved to pass him. The pirate turned to look at Ramandu with a scowl on his face. "Beware, Arran of Narnia, son of Withermere, the light is going out." The old Star's eyes searched his face intently as he spoke.
Arran pulled away from him. "I detest riddles, especially from my own people. Don't try to anger me so as to have some excuse as to why I cannot be one of you." He began walking away, trying not to let the resting Star's words unsettle him.
"It is fading far more rapidly than can be comprehended, son of Light."
Arran jerked to a stop and turned to stare at the old man. "I will consider your words, then." Leaving that with Ramandu, he turned and followed after his companions.
Ramandu and his daughter followed the party a ways. Before they continued down the path, the Narnians thanked the two Stars for all the help, small as it was, that had been given them. Zephyr walked up to Liliandil.
"If we return… I… I should like to see you again," he said hesitantly to her. Her eyes widened in surprise, while her father tried to act as though he had not heard the words.
"Then may you succeed, Zephyr Aliaani." Liliandil met his eyes and smiled. Zephyr nodded slightly before turning back to his brothers, who said nothing, only allowed barely hints of smiles to cross their faces.
"The journey to Dark Island is farther than it seems for those of noble intent; you must hurry on your way," Ramandu declared momentarily, after farewells had been said and thanks uttered. With parting glances and nearly imperceptible nods, the Narnians left the Stars and returned to their ship. As they sailed away, a bright light came from the island, and the star that was Liliandil ascended into the sky once more; what they could not see was Ramandu watching them from a ruined balcony.
He had never said it to them, but he wished them well, and he wished them victory.
A/N:
Well, who likes this? I think I wrote it rather well, don't you? I thought this would be quite a bit easier to write, but it wasn't; so many things happen in this chapter, and so many facial expressions and actions happen in the film that it was quite a challenge! I felt so bad leaving some things out and keeping some things in, but looking at the finished product now, I think it's quite good!
As usual, Jesus' girl 4ever was my Beta! I can't tell her thanks enough, so I thank her by publishing a chapter after she helps me, that's about as best I can do! Round of applause for her, and all those other Betas that kindly work on us writer's stories!
Now, some things first...
Aliaani is basically an endearment (not quite certain what it means in English yet, but I'm working on it) Originally it was going to mean something like 'friend' (it still does) but it also means 'of light' and so on. You guys could help me with that by offering ideas for a meaning in English! (Yes, I am writing a language for Stars; frankly because I can't find one of ours that sounds musical enough to fit their personality.)
Vornla is like saying man, male, you know, basically that.
Saranla is woman, female. You get the idea.
Alaara is "Lady" plural is 'Alaaral'
Alaaron is "Lord" plural is 'Alaaro'
I realized that if I'm to go into their culture I must have titles, words, and all that jazz for stuff in that world, or words for stuff in Narnia that they use.
Moving on...
This battle or war that Ramandu and Arran refer to is something I'll go into in a separate fanfic later on in time. That fanfic is strictly about Stars, Narnia, and why they can't get from the Narnian sky into Aslan's Country (because I find it odd that things like Stars, so wise and all, couldn't get there on a regular basis, like back and forth).
I have to cut this short, but, you know the order of things. Ask questions in reviews and I will answer.
ILoveFanfiction:
Yes, totally, I really hope the 4th film is a renaissance of the first! I have added the Stone Knife, are you pleased? I'll go more into it later, but for now, this is it. Well, got to go,
Love all your support,
WH