The Gates of Escrion

[Santinka]

 

[Santinka]

The Gates of Escrion
By Santinka

The place was familiar, the house and yard mine, but I felt as if I were someplace completely new. Dark patches faded in the corners of my vision, as if mist had blocked it out, blurring everything. Across the yard, where nothing had ought to be, a black wolf stood, staring. As I watched, it showed its teeth and grinned.
Until that moment, I had not been afraid, but now I was seized with terror. I couldn't move, I couldn't run! The wolf came toward me, a black shadow, and I knew it would get me, kill me or worse! It was like falling and yet being perfectly still. Perhaps if I moved, the entire universe would fall away and I would fall too. Was that possible, even in a dream? The wolf stalked toward me, malice reaching for me like tendrils of despair to settle me deeper into the nightmare fog. Out of those tendrils burst new white clouds, chasing the dark shadow of the wolf away. They circled back out of the mist and I realized that they were not clouds, but wolves, white as snow, and they had surrounded me.
The leader stepped forward and looked me in the eyes. The fear vanished as suddenly as it had come and I jerked awake.
My name is Kyla Rain. That was the first night I dreamed of wolves.
I went through the following day with a sort of hum in the back of my mind, thinking of the strange dream and wondering about it. I couldn't remember ever dreaming of wolves before, but then, I suppose that's hardly unusual. I dream of lots of new things, especially in nightmares, and with New Year's Eve in just a few days, I had a lot of new things to think about.


***

The second night was different. I stood in my driveway alone. The sun hung low in the sky, flowing in muted colors that weren't quite right. The nightmare haze flitted around the corners of my eyes as I turned to look around.
My pink bike, the one I got for my sixth birthday, stood just beyond my reach and I strode toward it, moving like water over the seat, fingers closing over the handlebars. The night turned dark and blue as I rode into the grass with the ease of a dream, streaming away to the garden, the colors shifting like the shades of an artist's pencil.
Just at the edge of the garden I stopped, rhythm broken by an unknown taboo, and could go no further. I stared away to the forbidden fields, rolling and yellow, bigger than they ever had been before and rolling like an ocean to my mind's eye. I wanted to be free to go there, to explore the waving grass like the adventurer I had always wanted to be, but suddenly, and at once as if I had known all along, I saw the reason for the taboo.
The black wolf stared at me from the fields, watching, and I knew he waited. He could come no further, for within the boundaries of my own yard, I could feel deep down in my bones that I was safe.
What I didn't understand was why. Not until I saw them, too. The other wolves, which I now saw were not pure white but with many shades of gray and brown in their fur. They circled me and, as the night before, the leader stepped toward me, looking me in the eyes. "Come with me," he said.
He led me to a grove of trees I had never seen before where we were hidden from view. One by one the other wolves followed into the sanctuary of trees, each as tall as me and with fierceness in their eyes, but something about the way they held themselves struck me as noble and I knew, with all the certainty of dreams, that these were creatures of honor. They assembled in a great circle around me, twelve white wolves.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"We are the Wolves of Escrion," the leader said. "We guard the Gates between worlds. I am Kine of Lir."
"Between worlds? There's...more than one?"
The wolf laughed. "There are many worlds, child. We guard but two."
I nodded. Anything was accepted in a dream. "And the other one?" I asked uncertainly. He knew I meant the black wolf.
"He is not a true wolf," Kine replied, lip curling in a snarl, "but a black magician who takes the guise of one. He is evil, child. He will kill you if he can."
"Why?" I ask, afraid again.
Kine looked at the others and his jaws came together with a frustrated snap. "We have little time." He looked at me again. "Listen closely, Kyla Rain. We cannot protect you beyond the boundaries. You must stay within them."
Everything started to go dark. "Wait! What boundaries?!" I cried. I was too late; the wolves were gone.
Someone shook my shoulder roughly. "Wake up Kyla! Wake up! You've been sleeping forever!"
I opened my eyes and sat up, blinking into the face of my younger sister. I yawned, stretching my arms out as far as they would go. "I was dreaming," I said.
Lauri through me a quizzical look. "So? I did too. I had a weird dream about dogs and borders and wearing pink underwear."
"That pink underwear?" I smirked, pointing.
"Oh. Yeah. Maybe that part wasn't a dream."
I didn't tell her about my dreams. My sister isn't that imaginative and wouldn't appreciate how strange it really was, let alone magicians and magic gates.

***

I stood at the edge of the yard, thinking about Kine's words.
It was only a dream.
I stepped into the field and stood very still. All of a sudden I realized I was holding my breath and released it with a shaky laugh, pushing the other foot forward.
As if some invisible wall had been crossed, the wind picked up and turned wild, the hair on the back of my neck prickled and goosebumps raced up my arms. With a shocked gasp I fell backward into the yard. Something solid brushed against my knee and I looked down in disbelief at the long, jagged lines that had appeared on my jeans. Something out there had missed me by only a hair.
I got slowly to my feet. My knees shook, knocking against each other silently as I backed away.
Only a dream? Not anymore.
I couldn't understand. Why did the black wolf want me dead? Why were these things happening? Why was I dreaming of wolves at all?

***

That night, when I went to sleep, the dream began instantly, and again it was clearer than it had been before.
I was standing alone beneath the spreading branches of the old ash tree. The moon hung over the world like a knowing eye, singing to the land in silence, encouraging it to come alive despite the dark. I was not surprised to find Kine beside me, looking solemnly up at the sky. We stood silent for a long time.
"You have questions," the wolf said at last.
"Yes," I admitted quietly.
"I will answer all that I may," he replied. His voice was reminded me of the earth somehow.
We stood again in silence for a while, looking up at the stars. I noticed the other wolves in the distance prowling the edges of the yard, gleaming like silver in the moonlight. They looked so solid, so certain, though I knew I must be dreaming.
"This is all real, isn't it?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes. Even a normal dream has glimmers of truth hidden inside. This dream has more than most."
I sighed. “Will I ever have one again? A normal dream, I mean."
Kine laughed. "I do not know the future, Kyla Rain. No one does for sure."
I sat down and hugged my knees, staring straight ahead in silence for a long time. "Why does the Black One hate me so much?"
The wolf looked down at me, his eyes shadowed with what seemed fatigue. "He hates all,” he replied. “He would kill everything if he could."
"What does that have to do with me?" I asked, holding back tears. If I cried, then Kine would know how scared I really was, and I didn’t want him to. He stared at me thoughtfully, studying my carefully blank face. I resisted the urge to look back up at him and stared at the ground instead.
"Can I tell you a story, Kyla?"
I swallowed the disappointment and anger when he didn't answer my question and nodded. Somehow I got the feeling that he knew how I felt, but he didn't change his mind about the story.
"Long ago, before your time or mine, a great and powerful mage discovered a rift between two worlds. Rifts had always troubled the world, bringing with them confusion and leaving behind chaos. This mage, who was a good man, decided to seal his world away and end the chaos for good."
I looked up, transfixed by the deep sound of the wolf's voice despite myself.
"He waited for a lightning storm, for from them he could take energy, and began to weave a great spell. In the midst of it all, the One Voice revealed to him that if he continued, he would destroy his world. Too late the mage realized that he had made the spell too strong and he could not stop it, so in the last moments, he changed it. Instead of closing the rifts, all of their energy was channeled into one, massive gate."
For a moment, Kine was silent, deep in thought. The seconds ticked by as I waited for him to continue.
"The mage used everything that was in him to change that spell, and it killed him, leaving the Gate unguarded.
“For nearly ten years, few knew of the Gate's existence, but evil will flock to any thing of power, and the magic in the rift gate was no different. The evil that inhabited the place began to turn the land barren. The Council of the Voice discussed and argued over how to solve the problem the Gate created and they slowly realized that the only way to save the land was to set guardians over the Gate, to keep it from being misused.
"Twelve warriors walked the road willingly into exile to become the Guardians of Escrion. On their way, they realized that they were only human, and little match for the creatures that they would spend their lives fighting. The Great Voice took pity on them, and gave the warriors a blessing, changing them into wolves, the creature that can pass more easily than any other between all the worlds. They were stronger, larger, and more powerful than any other wolf, able to withstand magic and sorcery of every nature. They grew strong together, and did their duty well."
I couldn't look away, locked deeply into the tale. Was this Kine's own story?
"Sometimes a wolf would die, or leave the Guardianship to return to the world he had left behind...but only one ever betrayed them."
"The black one!" I gasped, breaking my silence for the first time.
"Yes," Kine replied. "His name was once Derleuck, and he was a wolf of great beauty, the most noble, but he began to see the Gate as a thing of power, something to be used, not guarded. As his heart grew darker, so it was reflected in his eyes and his actions. The rest of the Guardians saw the change and cast him out of their midst, for he put the whole of two worlds in danger. Derleuck's heart was fully blackened with spite and he went up to the mountains, bargaining with a sorcerer for magic he could use to defeat the wolves, but when he attacked them and was defeated, and the Voice cursed him. When he took the form of a wolf, his fur would be as black as his heart, and he would find no rest for eternity. He would live on, wallowing in his own malice until such a time came that either he changed his ways, or he was killed. For hundreds of years, the Black One, as he became known, sought over and over to defeat the wolves, but always he had failed."
I thought he had finished and sat back on my heels, arms wrapped around knees again, this time against the cold. "But...I still don't get how that effects me," I said finally, looking into Kine’s dark eyes in confusion.
He nodded, seeming to agree, then spoke again. "Three months past, one of the Guardians left us. He would have sent back a successor had he made it safely into the lands beyond the mountains, but we believe he was murdered. Two nights from now, the Black One is at his strongest. His forces and others will attack at once, but we will be hard pressed to hold them back when we are one wolf short."
"I still don't—" I stopped suddenly and gulped, staring at Kine. "That's not—I mean, I'm not—"
Kine nodded, stopping me short. "Yes. You could become one of us, Kyla. Your heart is a warrior's heart, and it is kind. We sorely have need of one such as you.”
"But I—I don't get this! I can't be a wolf, I'm a girl! I have to stay here, with my family! This is my life!"
"At the stroke of midnight on New Year's eve, we will no longer be able to protect you and must attend solely to the gate,” Kine said with worry in his eyes. “Derleuck will be able to break the boundaries, and it will no longer be a sanctuary for you."
"But I'm just a kid!" I cried, terror bleeding out of me as I leapt to my feet, even while my heart leapt at the idea. A wolf! A Guardian! I could be like Kine, and protect the worlds! "I didn't ask for this! What about my family?!"
"They will be safe. He is not interested in them. But he will try to catch you, Kyla. If you choose to remain as you are, then you must stay inside for the first hour of the New Year. After that, you will see none of us again, and your life will go back to the way it was. You will believe that you were just dreaming.
"But if you choose to become a Guardian, you must be brave. The peril is great. At the stroke of midnight, you must go outside, into the field. In it, there will be a grove like you saw in your dream, a circle of trees that are unfamiliar. You must get into it as quickly as you can, for once you do, you will be safe, and the Black One will have power to harm you no more. We will protect you for as long as we can, but at midnight we must guard the Gate. Think carefully on your choice, Kyla. I will not speak to you again after this night."
"No—wait!” I cried. “Will I be able to come back? I have to know! Kine!"
But the wolves, and the dream, had already gone.

***

I worked hard the next day. I cleaned my room, washed windows, did dishes—anything that needed doing I did, thinking all the while about Kine's offer and the evil of the Black One. They both hung over me like clouds, threatening to overwhelm me if I stopped for even a minute.
Far too soon I ran out of things to do, and tried watching a movie, but I had seen it a hundred times and my mind began to wander.
You could become one of us, Kyla. Your heart is a warrior's heart, Kine had said.
I let myself imagine what it would be like to be a wolf. Four long legs would carry me over the hills and my senses would be amazing. Would I be able to smell the sky? Silver fur would keep me warm and protect me from the burning rage of the sun and the cold of winter. My paws would be tough and sturdy and I could run fast on rough ground. I would have a pack, someplace to belong, and I would see a whole new world.
I'm no warrior, I thought suddenly, and all of my fears came crashing down with that reality. I couldn't leave. I was too scared, and what about my family? My parents, my sisters? How could I put them through that? How could I survive without them? I hugged tight to myself and stayed inside, getting quieter and quieter.
That night, I did not dream of wolves, but I had nightmares all the same. In all of them I was terrified, running away from something I couldn't see and knew I didn't want to. Whatever it was would be more terrible than anything I could imagine.

***

It was New Year's Eve. The slow ticking of the clock made me nervous and jumpy, more than I already was. Almost everyone had either gone to bed or to a friend's house, and I was the only one up. Normally I would have watched the ball drop in Time Square, but not tonight. The TV stayed off, just like everything but the living room light.
I curled up on the couch under a big blanket and started to cry. I wanted to go. I wanted to be a wolf, but I couldn't. How was I supposed to guard against the evil of two worlds when I couldn't even leave my own house?
"Kyla?"
I sat up quickly, rubbing a hand across my eyes to brush away my silent tears. "Yeah, what?" I replied, slurring m voice a little to make it seem as if I'd just woken up.
"Were you sleeping?" Lauri asked, her voice surprisingly somber. I stared up at my little sister. Her face was perhaps more grave than I had ever seen it and she looked at me in a strangely serious way.
"No," I say, yawning.
She sat down beside me and fiddled with my blanket. I tossed half of it over her and I was startled when she hugged me suddenly, amazed when she didn't let go.
"Are you okay?" I asked, for a moment my fears forgotten. It was a long time before she answered, and when she did, I think my heart stopped.
"You have to go," she whispered, hugging me tighter.
"W-what?"
She looked up at me, her eyes beginning to fill slightly. "You have to go with them. They need you."
I was stunned into silence at her words. This was my sister? The same sister who sneered at my favorite movies and told me how much of a loser I was whenever the chance presented itself? The same sister who, after finding out that I was more interested in playing outside in the garden than on the computer, told me that I needed to get a life and that she couldn't believe she was related to me? But it was her, I knew. This was the side of her she rarely showed to anybody, even herself.
"What do you mean?" I asked with my heart fluttering in my mouth.
She leaned away and looked me in the eyes, brushing away her own tears and taking a deep breath. "I've been dreaming about wolves too," Lauri whispered and bit her lip. "I listened to them when they were talking to you, you know. I heard what they said. You have to go."
"I-I can't!" I stuttered, feeling myself start to shake.
"Why not?" she demanded, a piece of her usual self coming to light.
"I'm scared, okay! I can't do it. The Black One is out there and—and I just can't!"
Lauri grabbed my face with both hands and held me still. "There's nothing you can't do. You're supposed to go."
I started to cry then, and Lauri put an arm around my shoulders and hugged me close again, but this time as if I were the younger sister and she were the older. She bent close to my ear. "You'll come back, Kyla. I know you will. I had a dream."
"What about Mom? What about everybody?!"
"I'll tell them something. Maybe the truth. I don't know."
The clock counted the seconds, chiming the eleventh hour. "What if the Black One catches me?" I asked finally, whispering so it would not hang on the air.
"He won't," she said.
We sat in silence for a long moment.
"I'm sorry," I choked, and couldn't say more. For everything. For anything I’ve ever said to you, or done...
Lauri looked at me, her own eyes red, and nodded. "I am too," she replied quietly. When we were little, we used to tell each other everything. If it mattered to either of us, then we talked about it. As we got older, and Lauri got more interested in fashion and money, and I kept to my books and stories, we began to drift apart, until we almost never spoke at all. But that last hour I spent with my sister was like old times again. We had a lot of catching up to do and so little time! We talked about hopes and dreams, friends, lies we've told each other and things we'd never said but should have.
Finally, the clock chimed twelve. The Gate was open, and the Black One would be in our yard.
With a final hug, we told each other goodbye, and I walked toward the door.
"Lauri?" I said suddenly, turning around. "Will you tell them—tell them that I love them?"
She smiled faintly and nodded. "Be careful. And—the bike is at the top of the stairwell. You left it by the garden."
I smiled gratefully back at her. "Bye," I whispered, and opened the door.
“Kyla?”
I looked back as she threw her arms around me one last time. “You’re not a loser,” she said.
I hugged her tightly, swallowing the lump in my throat, and let her go.
“I love you,” I whispered as I closed the door quietly behind me.
I walked up the concrete steps as silently as I could and looked around. I didn't see anything, so I stepped out into the cold night air. My heart began to drum, racing in my veins like a Nascar driver on the final lap.
It took a long time for my searching eyes to finally focus on the bike and I walked forward. It was not the same as the one from the dreams. It was newer, a ten speed, and it was fast! I kicked up the stand and wheeled away from the house, treading away on silent feet. I would walk for as long as I could. When I got on the bike, all idea of stealth would be lost.
The howl that tore the night air like teeth startled me into stillness for a moment. If I had been any slower to recover then I would have died, for a shadow bounded out of the dark, a black shape from a land of wraiths. I don't know how I moved so fast, and I don't think he expected it. The speed of sound was left behind as I charged out of the yard on the big blue bike. Faster and faster, I was leaving the black wolf behind.
Then something happened that I didn't expect.
The tire smashed into a hidden stump and I flew over the handlebars, landing hard on the cold ground. It took me only an instant to realize that in the time it took me to right the bike, the black wolf would be on me. I didn't stand a chance against any wolf, and he had magic on his side.
So I ran.
A human on foot can not outrun a wolf, but I tried anyway, tripping and stumbling, already growing tired.
That was when I saw it. The ring of giant trees shimmered under the light of a waning moon, branches waving in the wind, dancing in place. There is no one word that can describe the strange feeling that filled me, bypassing my brain and my tiredness. But I am not the only one who could go faster. The Black One saw the grove as soon as I did, and he threw himself forward, coming closer and closer.
I knew that I would not make it.
They say in life that there is only what happens, and what does not happen. One thing filled my mind and gave me the strength I did not have, the will to keep going when death was certain.
Does not happen! I thought, and with the black wolf's breath on my neck I threw myself into the grove. I rolled forward and looked back in time to see a flash of blue light and a smell like burning hair as the Black One hit a barrier that I could not see. I was safe.
Beneath my feet blue light began to trace patterns in the earth, swirling and rippling around me. All around the grove runes appeared in the ground, their glow growing stronger and stronger, until there was a brilliant flash of blue light—

***

My name is Kyla Rain, and I have been a Wolf for almost a year now. Someday I will return, but for now, I have a home here. I am the first Guardian ever to come from Earth, though to my relief I am not the only girl. There are three others besides me, though women in the ranks of the Wolves are unusual. They do not usually choose a life of exile over a home and family.
I am unusual in that since I became a Wolf, I have had the occasional glimpse of foresight, though the future changes with each new decision made. Kine says it is a grand joke the Voice has laid on him and I laugh because he is right. I am still learning how to be a Guardian, though I have fought many battles with my pack, some even against the Black One.
Someday I will walk again the road to humanity and return to my family, but for now, I am a Wolf. I guard the place between two worlds, and so the world themselves. I guard the Gates of Escrion.  

[Santinka]

About the Author

Santinka is seventeen years old and has been writing ever since she learned how at the age of six or seven. Her hobbies include writing, art of all forms, and hanging out with her friends. Her favorite soda on any given day is Sasparilla or Sioux City rootbeer. She loves animals and has a dog, three fish and three rabbits(at the moment), and has written two and many half books, although none are yet published, but she plans to write as her career. Her favorite authors include Robin McKinley, Tamora Pierce, Stephanie Meyer and Brian Jacques.