Sorian

Raised in front of his face, a pair of wrinkled hands trembled in the glaring morning sun. Shimmering rays of sunlight fell on the heavy woolen blankets that weighed down the weary, mortal body he now possessed. Craning his neck, Sorian squinted at the frail limbs that remained hidden under the many layers that covered him. Taking a rasping breath through aching lungs, he took in the small chambers where he lay, the bedside table, and the pitcher of water and the glass on it.
With a creak the door swung open to reveal a young, slender girl, standing against the battered door frame. Her hair was a flowing, ivory curtain with three jet black streaks, two on the right, one on the left, surrounding her tanned face. “Dad, you’re awake! You took longer this time, are you ok?”
“I’m ok... I think, but who are you?” Sorian murmured, marvelling at his surroundings and all the noises around him, his glazed eyes now honing in on her face.
The young girl’s freckled face turned ashen. “You forgot who I am?”
“I’m afraid I have never seen you before. My name is Sorian Asterin, I am the future lord of the house of Asterin in the kingdom of Arkta. I serve under the royal family of Eira and-”
“What do you mean?! What have you done to my dad?!” She demanded, now brandishing the pitcher of water in his direction.
“Whoa whoa whoa, calm down I just-” Hands held reassuringly towards her, Sorian softened his face into what he hoped was a non-threatening smile.The girl backed against the door, her slim frame shaking and eyes wide. Guess it wasn’t very reassuring…
“Who the hell are you?!” The adolescent teen demanded, irritation written all over.
“I just told you, I’m-” Sorian began, only to be cut off again by the cutthroat girl.
“Quit kidding around. It's not funny anymore, whoever you are, or rather, whatever sorcery you’re using, give me back my dad!" Arms crossed, a mix of bewilderment, annoyance and fear flitting across her features.
"I'm not really sure what you mean by that, I haven't done anything to your father." He said, now equally perplexed. He WAS in a forty some year old human body, and apparently had a daughter after all. “Excuse my rudeness, but may I ask what your name is?”
“Nova. My name is Nova Iralaia.” Ah, it appeared that his supposed daughter inherited more from his best friend then himself. Sorian chuckled to himself at the nearly flawless replica of the young prince’s crisp replies.
“Is my name somehow funny to you?” Nova demanded, her pine colored eyes alight with fury.
“No no, not in the slightest, it's a fine name for a young lady. You just remind me of a dear friend of mine.” Sorian replied, hoping to pacify Nova’s sudden outbursts.
“I see. So, care to explain what happened to my father?” Nova answered, placing the pitcher of water back on the table and slumping into a nearby chair.
“I’m not really sure what to tell you to be honest. The last thing I remember is passing out on the shores of Arkta.”
“Any idea how to, y’know, bring my father back, and well, get you back to your world? I’m sure your family and friends must miss you terribly.” Wow, miss sarcasm has a heart. Smirking at the irony, Sorian thought of his friends, his people and his world. What had happened to them, how did he even end up in the human world anyways?
“I have absolutely no idea-” Sorian was met with dead silence, Nova’s face, the epitome of seriousness, not a flicker of amusement. “Kidding, kidding, it's true that I’m not sure how to return your father to this body, but we can probably find answers in Spectrulis, the world above the rainbow and I do know how to get there.”
“When are you ready to leave?” Nova’s voice was laced with concern, for him or her father’s body, Sorian wasn’t sure. Taking a deep breath, air pushed down his lungs and pooled in his chest, he was sure that his current health would not permit him to travel far.
“This body is not strong enough to make the journey, we should wait a few more days. I will do my best to train your father’s body; it would be wise for you to gather anything you wish to bring with us.”
“Very well. Are you hungry? I can prepare some breakfast for us, if you'd like?”
After a delightful breakfast, Sorian returned to his room, fortunately, his wife, or rather the owner of his body’s wife, Azala, was visiting her family and would not be back for several months. Chills rushed through his body, and upon spotting the opened windows and swaying drapes, Sorian hurriedly closed them, sighing with relief as warmth flooding back into his skin.
“I have completed all my preparations and I’ve contacted everyone saying we are on a trip so everything should go uninterrupted.” Nova’s panting voice drew him from his thoughts. She was standing at his door, her hair flying out of its plait and hanging around her face.
“Thank you, I believe two days should be a sufficient amount of time for me to prepare this body for the journey.” He replied.
The morning had finally come. Sorian had managed to return some flexibility and muscle to his frail human form, though, nowhere near the physical prowess of his youthful spectrulanne body.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Packed and ready to roll" Sorian replied, eyes lighting up at the prospect of returning to his people, and realm.
Three days of walking, hiking and climbing. That’s how long it took for them to finally reach the top of Spectrum mountain, hidden at the top lay the portal to Spectrulis. Heavily out of breath and limbs aching, Sorian took off his pack, which landed on the rocky ground with a resounding thump.
“Nova, I have a favor to ask of you.” His mind was made up. He needed to know more.
“What is it?” Nova’s laboured breathing matched his own, exhaustion weighing down her stunning face.
“I would like to learn more about your father, what was he like?” Nova's face varied between a plethora of emotions, shock, confusion and weariness among others.
"Oh, yeah sure. Well I guess the first thing I should tell you about him is his name huh. My dad's name is Valik Galius, he's a war veteran from the front lines."
"He sounds like an honorable man." Unsure of how to react to the guilt of his kind, Sorian cast his eyes to the rocky terrain. Several years ago the council of the rainbow planned an attack on the human realms. It seemed like the raid on Arkta was not enough to delay the council’s decision.
"That he is." Nova’s unfaltering use of the present tense sent another rush of burning shame down his spine.
Having caught his breath and the pain in his joints fading to a full ache, Sorian reached for his pack, gesturing towards a large boulder. "That’s the portal. Now all we need is a rainbow." Peering hopefully up at the cloudy grey sky, his heart sunk; the air held only the musty smell of rocks and ash.
"Looks like we'll be waiting awhile." Nova's sweat drenched face cracked into a vibrant smile, and she laughed, and laughed, and laughed, until as if summoned by a holy spirit, rain showered down on the two of them; and then, Sorian laughed too.
At noon, the sun filtered down, in shining beams of light, surrounding the Spectrum mountain in glowing pillars. What happened next could only be comparable to magic, the enormous boulder lit up, swirling with all the colors of the rainbow, and from it, a beautiful rainbow burst across the sky.
Now! Reaching behind himself to clasp Nova's calloused hand, he pulled the speechless girl into the swirling abyss of colors. To Spectrulis! The journey to Arkta begins!

© Bifen