The Warden

Even goddesses have nightmares.

Feverish, smothering, half-formed images muddled their way through Werold’s, the earth-mother’s, squirming mind. The half of her that still remained awake—the half that faced her companion, her lover, her husband, Wilo, the father-sun—had little to no power to affect her slumbering side, and so her shadowed half became a place of dreams. And in this case bad ones.

The slumbering side of Werold grimaced and let out a small, pitiful whimper. One of her children was suffering and others of her offspring were causing it. These were the worst dreams she had. As much as she wanted to pull away from the ache, to hide from the agony of knowing her children were intent on harming each other, she resisted the urge.

Werold drew her attention closer to the pain. Agony spiked through her mind as three of her children’s images fogged into her thoughts, their actions flurried, violent, desperate. Enduring the anguish, Werold drew her slumbering self to this singular moment, forcing herself to remain in absolute control—her lapses could have devastating consequences for her children around her surface. As the figures solidified into finer details, Werold suppressed a shudder that ached into her soul.

Lady Kyla, a wounded yet precious daughter, struggled against two opponents for her very life.

A queasy roil slithered through Werold and she had to exert all her willpower not to allow the feeling to overcome her and erupt into calamitous effect.

Two night wights tried to destroy Kyla.

Another vomitous wave surged through her, but this time she was ready and clamped down on her rising gorge. Another, heavier feeling, smothered over Werold as Kyla ducked and dove under the constant barrage of the two creatures that had once been two of the earth-mother’s human children. But they had forsaken themselves, selling away the gifts of life and light that she and her husband had bestowed to become creatures of her rebellious, adopted Daughter, Manu.

Oh, Manu, why? Werold wondered, sending the words out to her wayward child.

Silence. As always, her Daughter refused to respond.

Oh, Manu…

The words ached through her. Her Daughter’s rebellion weighed on her still. She had her other Children, Mona and Mani, but she wanted her family whole once more as any Mother would.

Please, she sent out. Speak to me…

A blow landed on Kyla, drawing Werold’s attention from her mourning.

The woman staggered but managed to dodge a blow from the other night wight that would have ended the conflict right then. She favored a leg and angled the apparently injured limb away from her attackers. Werold couldn’t tell how badly hurt Kyla was. The night limited her perception considerably. Judging by the grimace and the limp, Werold didn’t think Kyla could keep her efforts up for much longer.

However, Werold needed her to survive.

She and Wilo had many plans in motion to deal with the night wight scourge that had infected the continent her children called Haimlant. Many plans that all had a chance to succeed as long as the people included in them chose to first be a part of them and second to remain true to the end. Yet, out of all their plans, the one that Werold preferred the most—for it redeemed a most damaged of souls—was the one that included Lady Kyla and her, hopefully, future apprentice, a young man that the goddess and her Husband had prepared especially for the task.

The earth-mother flinched as Kyla barely eluded another vicious blow and managed to land a crushing strike to one of the wight’s knees that sent it tumbling to the ground. The other responded with a jab that caught Kyla across the jaw and sent her reeling.

Scalding anger rushed through Werold. She kept it in check, barely. With all her slumbering side could muster she snatched out at the whirling night wights. They passed through her grasp like smoke through fingers. Manu shielded her twisted children from Werold and even now they appeared as nothing more than murky smudges that disappeared and reappeared in rapid succession.

Kyla took another blow.

Werold winced. No.

Another attack landed.

Not again.

Kyla staggered, dropping to her knees.

The night wight aimed a killing blow at the back of her neck.

The goddess had lost too many children to the night wights. To her Daughter’s, Manu’s, ambition and spite. She wouldn’t lose another if she could help it.

She snatched Kyla into her godly grasp. It was difficult. The woman had had dealings with Manu, bargaining away some of her precious light to extend her life. But she hadn’t given away all of it like the night wights. The animal portion she still retained gave Werold purchase, access, and so she poured power into Kyla.

The woman came to life with murderous vigor.

She evaded the killing stroke, springing back to her feet with such speed the night wight staggered back as though struck. That hiccup of surprise gave Kyla an opening and she struck out three times in rapid succession with her hands and feet, once to the throat, another to the temple, the last to the inside of the knee. The wight collapsed with a strangled gurgle.

Sorrow ached through Werold. She never enjoyed seeing any of her children—no matter their state—in pain.

The other night wight had regained its feet and came at Kyla from behind. Werold thrust the impression of the oncoming attack into the woman’s mind along with more energy.

With fluid grace, Kyla ducked under the night wight’s swing, grabbing its wrist in the same motion. She smashed the flat of her palm into its elbow forcing the joint to crack in the wrong direction in a grotesque fashion. The wight shrieked out. Pressing her advantage, Kyla trapped the creature in a headlock before twisting the wight’s head sharply. The neck crackled as the creature fell limp from Kyla’s grasp. Without a quiver of remorse, the woman walked over to the other still recovering night wight. It lashed out. She kicked it in the head, rendering it unconscious. She bent down and broke its neck as well.

It unnerved Werold just how casually her daughter had learned to dispense death.

What have you become, daughter mine?

A flutter on the edge of Werold’s protracted attention caused her to expand her view outward.

Night wights. A whole pack of them descended on Kyla’s location.

Communicating with her children in her slumber was difficult. She did her best. It wouldn’t do to help Kyla survive one fight only to have her die against impossible odds.

RUN! Werold pushed the impression of a pack of wights heading her way as well.

The woman took off like a meteor streaking through the night. Werold did all she could to open up a path for her and conceal her going. The goddess observed with tight apprehension to see if the new arrivals would give chase. They didn’t. Relief soothed through her.

That was too close, the goddess thought as Wilo’s rays began to brighten the sky over Kyla’s location and the woman slowed her pace to a light jog. As the drowsy dark fled, Werold became more alert, more able to connect with Kyla’s physical state.

The energy the earth-goddess had lent the woman had gone a long way to heal her more serious injuries but her jaw still ached, a knee still protested, and one of her shoulders ground in the most unpleasant way. As much as Kyla’s physical state distressed Werold, her mental condition worried her even more. Less like a human and more like an animal—wholly instinctual, predatory, shedding almost every vestige of sanity.

Werold just wanted to wrap her injured daughter in a cocoon of protection and soothe away all the damage and pain. She ached to see any of her children suffering.

Will they learn if we take away all the consequences of their choices? Wilo’s voice filled her with a warm cascade as he peeked into this portion of Werold’s expanse.

You and I already know the answer, she responded. That doesn’t make it any easier on me though.

I know. And I’m sorry. But I think you were right to save her, he said and Werold could sense his attention going to Kyla. I also think it’s time to send her to Hyrbn.

Is he ready? Werold asked, her attention turning to the chosen young man.

As ready as he’ll ever be, Wilo said. But as always it will be his choice, so we’ll have to see.

Free will. She and her Husband had strongly agreed on allowing all of their children to exercise unfettered agency. They may have prepared the young man, but he would have to choose to accept his task.

We’ll need to take a more direct approach to get her to go, said Werold.

I agree, said Wilo. Werold detected a gleaming smile on his face. And it will give you the opportunity to do some healing with her.

Werold returned his smile. He knew her so well. She cast her mind back to the profoundly wounded woman.

Kyla, she gently called. The woman froze. Kyla, can you hear me?

The woman burst with laughter.

Alarmed, Werold took hold of her, allaying her pain.

The laughter hitched but did not stop.

“I knew it,” said Kyla. “I knew it. It has finally happened. I’ve gone mad. Well, completely mad at least. I’ve always been a little mad. I always wondered what it would be. Hearing voices seems appropriate.”

Werold held back a little chuckle of her own, opening her presence more fully to Kyla to help reinforce the truth of the encounter.

You’re not mad, daughter. I’m Werold, the earth-mother.

The laughter cut off and an annoyed frown scrunched Kyla’s mouth. “Right. And I’m Mona, the benevolent sister moon, ready to do battle with her evil stepsister, Manu.”

Taken aback, Werold opened herself more fully, the equivalent of giving someone a solid thump on the head, and warm satisfaction hummed through her as Kyla pulled up short but not without a noticeable grumble.

“Fine. You’re the earth-mother.” She ran a hand under her nose. “So, now what?”

You need to go to Hyrbn.

“Why?”

This time Werold didn’t hold back her laughter. She couldn’t imagine any of her other children acknowledging her as a goddess and then be so blatant to doubt her directions.

Don’t you want to find what you’ve been looking for?

Again, the woman pulled up short, glancing about with an incredulous look on her face. “Wait. You’re telling me that the person I’ve been looking for is in Hyrbn?”

Yes.

Kyla threw back her head and shouted her next words to the sky. “You do know that I have been wandering around for the last few centuries, right?!”

Again, Werold gave a little chuckle. Yes, I am aware. We’ve been preparing a few things.

“Preparing a few things,” Kyla mumbled. “Would have been nice a few hundred years ago.”

Sometimes preparations take a few hundred years.

“Oh, of course they do.” Muttering to herself, Kyla shuffled her bare feet in the dirt. “Of course, being a godly personage, you couldn’t just snap your fingers and make it happen? Of course, not.”

I obey natural laws as well.

Kyla just rolled her eyes. “So, who is it I’m supposed to find in Hyrbn?”

First, get there and then we’ll talk again.

Kyla harrumphed but still set off in the direction of the distant city, all the while muttering to herself. “I’m sure she’ll talk to me again. Probably after another four hundred years of preparations. It must be nice to be able to so casually wait that long. Not like the rest of the world has anything better to do.”

Werold just chuckled to herself as the muttering kept going in a long string of complaints and criticisms.

Oh, daughter, she thought to herself. You are good for my soul.