VII
A narrow and rocky foothill of the Great Waeryehen mountains, with a dense forest growing next to it, was just spacious and walkable enough for the girls to progress through it at a faster pace. Unfortunately, they lost the horse. Fear of unusual phenomena chased him too far for the girls to catch him again. But it was questionable if they would even be able to quickly advance by riding it along this path. In certain parts, the old road was completely decomposed and very dangerous for the unwary feet, especially when the night fell. The desire for faster progress heightened the risk of injury in such conditions, but two Ahleas did not want to give much time for Waeryehenian army to prepare a new trap in front of the capital.
After confronting the wizard, there was no room for any doubt that the golden statuette which made them start this adventure, had a lot more interesting history than they could have imagined. They were now convinced that the old stories about incredibly powerful wizards were true, and also that whatever prevented them from appearing and using their powers on the Continent all these years, recently ceased to work.
“There is no doubt that Waeryehenian sacred statue has something to do with it. The mage had specifically asked for it” Tenen began to think out loud at one point.
“I think so too. It can not be a coincidence that the return of the first mage after all this time happened just two days after the Tarlaeth broke.”
“I must admit, after this event, I see more meaning and purpose in going in front of the Waeryehenian king for answers.”
Dlora was glad that her decision to bring the statue to the king Yarael Twenty-Seventh received confirmation of its purposefulness. Powers performed by that wizard, and even more destructive rage and evil which one could so easily read from his eyes, clearly suggested that every second in the search for new solutions against next magical attacks was precious.
But as they came near to the ultimate goal, after all, the night of long and rapid travel, they both started to think about how were they supposed to get into Yaraelen and then break they way through to the king. For the first problem, it made the most sense to jump out some passengers at the entrance to the city and try to get disguised in their clothes. Waiting for it to get dark and to attempt going over high, smooth and well-kept city walls, was a backup option, but it was a crucial waste of time they did not look forward to.
Darkness, fatigue, haste, thinking about previous events and planning future ones, all resulted in a new and again crucial drop of concentration. At one curve, just in front of the end of the roundabout route, quite close to where the old road was getting back to the main one, on their way through the thick bushes, they suddenly broke out into a clearing and appeared quite unexpectedly in front of a group of dark persons wrapped in clothes.
The first and the weakest rays of morning sunlight discovered ten silhouettes. They were standing in the dark, dressed in dark robes with hoods so that no part of their body could not be seen. They stood one next to each other, forming a wide circle with their bodies. Their arms were outstretched in front of them, they murmured quietly and perfectly matched. Their song sounded just as spooky as the whole scene looked creepy.
Two warrior girls suddenly pulled out their swords and prepared to attack before being attacked. The first conclusion for both Ahleas was that they ran into more wizards. This time their number was frightening and the girls realized that they two stood no chance against so many of them.
But the first reaction of masked characters reassured them. Most people in the mysterious circle retreated in fear and showed no offensive tendencies. Only a couple of them remained in their seats, just turning their heads, covered with hoods, to newcomers.
“Oh, look. Our Ahlean colleagues” said one of them, in a clear voice of an older woman. Then she reached up and removed the hood from her head, revealing her numerous long gray hairs and wrinkles under them.
The first face revealed, as well as all other that decided to show soon after, offered the explanation. Tattoos on their foreheads indicated them to be Waeryehenian priestesses. Moreover, the words of who took the hood off first indicated the same. She called out Ahlea warrior girls as colleagues because in their country they had the status of priestesses. But their ritual roles were minimal. because Ahlean religion did not require so much ceremony in expressing their beliefs.
Two warring countries shared very similar religious beliefs. In short, they both believed in All. They thought that everything that exists is, in fact, one, supreme Deity. Every living thing and inanimate matter, what exists and does not exist, had existed or had not and will exist or will not, is an important part of All. To live in harmony with All was a common philosophy. For all the restlessness that was brought inside the All by war, both countries blamed, of course, the opposite side. As in such cases, the justification for their war actions they found in the need to re-enter the harmony in All by winning.
Waeryehenian religious tradition had more ceremonies and the need to pay regular tribute to All. The fear of introducing discord through neglect of religion and religious rituals was much stronger than in Ahleyn. Kingdom of Ahlea warriors was convinced that there were no reasons for such concerns. By establishing a unique system in which complete control was in the hands of women, they believed to have entered a crucial element in the stability of All. In addition, they tended to bring balance in All by making a balance between mind and body. But Waeryehen was much better in remembering the time when wizards tried hard to take greatest possible control over All, thus entering imbalance and great discomfort, and poisoning their hearts with the evil that way. This nation tried to live in a greater connection with All and so to prevent a great evil from repeating itself.
Waeryehenians allowed women to be priests, although they had much less prestige and influence than their male colleagues. They had their own ranks and rates, and it immediately came clear to both Ahleas that they ended up here just in the middle of one of the ceremonies.
Two Ahleas looked at each other, and just as if read each other's thoughts, decided to leave their swords in their sheaths. There was no danger from Waeryehenian women of faith, they were known for their peacefulness. Quite the opposite to Ahleyn philosophy, they felt that any violence bring discomfort inside All, so acting violently could not possibly in any way be a stabilizer of great balance.
“We apologize for disrupting your early morning ritual. That was not our intention - Dlora decided to a completely peaceful approach. She believed that with the priests she could normally communicate.
“It is good to know” the same woman continued, apparently the oldest and most appreciated among them, ”some of my sisters are too young to be able to master their fear. They heard too many terrible stories about Ahleas. I am somewhat older and remember that there is another side of your call and of your nature.”
“I am sure you are interested in why we are here” continued Dlora and, without waiting for an answer, pulled out the two halves of broken statues from her jacket pocket and showed them for the priestesses to clearly see. She knew that this act would make a powerful effect.
After a short scream of one of the younger girls, there were few long moments of complete silence. Most of them covered their lips and widened their eyes in disbelief. It was clear that they were completely shocked by what they had seen.
“Is it…” a younger blonde gathered the courage to let her voice out “... is that Tarlaeth? The real one?”
“What is this? What are you doing?” a gray-haired leader took over the conversation.
“It is the real one, I assure you. While breaking in half it created such a show like no imitation could ever do. You would probably know something about it.”
“What kind of game is this? Is this some kind of new war tactics to confuse opponents?”
Dlora was surprised by this unexpected loss of nerves of a Waeryehenian priestesses. The woman was obviously more aware than all other on the lawn what a condition of the statue meant.
“No, really,
this is your holy…”
“You are lying! You are playing with us. It can not be” she rushed forward to Dlora, now with tears in her eyes. But Tenen, quite unexpectedly, stepped forward and slapped the old woman on her cheek.
Another brief moment of silence appeared. The act of a younger warrior girl briefly surprised even her older colleague.
“Get a grip, woman!” yelled Tenen, and then added quietly “the situation is obviously far too serious for us to lose control.”
It worked. The priestess was holding her burning cheek and continued with a calmer voice.
“I do not know if this can be fixed! Protector of the Continent is neutralized! Now, nothing prevents the mages to re-enter the Continent and regain their dark reign…”
“Maybe you're wrong,” Dlora said “One of them is already here. He attacked us near Kjell. We managed to escape, we might have even killed him. But he wanted us to turn over the remains of Tarlaeth to him. He seems to be the only one on the Continent for the time being.”
“You mean that the others are afraid to come back before the sacred statue is completely destroyed? I do not know…”
The old woman went deeper into her thoughts. It was really hard for her to think clearly after a great surprise and sudden rush of panic a moment ago.
“Maybe there is a way. King Yarael is the only one who could know. He is the guardian of Tarlaeth.”
Dlora was very glad to hear this. Tenen also had to smile.
“I am very glad to hear that. We were just headed to stand before him.”
The old Waeryehenian priestess looked up.
“The arrogance of you Ahlea women never stops to surprise me! You planned to just walk right up to our ruler?”
“Well, something like that. And for now, it was going well for us. And now we have even found us, co-workers, to help us on the last and most difficult part of the journey.”
And once again there was silence. The priests questioned their feelings and pondered if they could help the enemy warriors. Some of them still thought this might be a deliberate trap with the ultimate goal to assassinate the king. They still remembered the savagery of the Ahleyn army committed on their soil, especially in the conquest of their capital.
The leading priestess broke the silence. The same one that had acted unwisely just a minute ago now tried to offer a voice of reason.
“I know, my sisters, what you are thinking” she turned to the priests, “You do not see a reason to trust an enemy. Yes, it crossed also my mind that it may be a scam. But only for a moment. I remember former meetings with the Ahlea members in the old days when we lived in peace with Ahleyn. I got to know their positive, honorable side back then. That same side today I find on the faces of these two warriors. And I can remember every detail of our holy Tarlaeth. Its appearance is unique and special. I am convinced that these are the parts of it in her hands. Something tells me that they should be trusted and that we should act quickly so that together we can save our world!”
The woman specifically highlighted her last words, raising also her hands theatrically, leaving such a powerful effect on the end of an already impressive speech. A positive effect of her words, in the most suitable way for two warrior girls, one could immediately see.