Thursday, October 20, 2005

   Chapter 13: Sanna-Saegea-Pindus (part 3)
“I wonder if Letheans still live up there,” Yatii said as he handed his paddle over to Ed.
“I’m sure they do,” Raine responded from behind him. He was wearing a sleeping Sasheeta on his head (she had decided that his head was the best for sunbathing). “They didn’t fight in the war, so you would expect that there would still be some there.”
“Don’t they have any magic?” Lucifer asked. The only ones who fought in the Continental War were those with magic powerful enough to destroy or bind demons.
“No,” Yatii answered. “From what I’ve read, they survived simply on the grasses and trees in the valleys, and so they had no use for any magic. I sure hope we get to meet some.”
“That’s not very likely,” Raine said reasonably. “They don’t like to be bothered by the outside world very much.”
“I know that!” Yatii exclaimed, slashing with his paddle. “I just… well…” He shrugged and didn’t finish his sentence. The boys let the topic drop, returning their gazes to the mountains, which now cast their gigantic shadows over everything as Chella sank away behind them.
When Arigato, the elves’ sun, was also close to disappearing, Panda finally called for them to stop. It was already so dark that they couldn’t see the opposite side of the Acheron River. They pulled up their boats on a flat, deserted, grassy expanse without a town or building in sight, and stretched out on the grass beneath the glittering stars.
They were so exhausted that they didn’t even notice that they didn’t get any dinner. Over half an hour, when the very last beams of light had disappeared, silence stretched over the sleeping Caravan, broken only by a snore and the rustling of grass.

The morning came quickly and with a surprise.
When the soldiers woke them at the break of dawn, they grumbled and ate their breakfast in a sleepy quiet. If Yatii, Ed, and Raine had noticed that Pen wasn’t eating, then they didn’t bother to question about it. Sasheeta happily ate the sandwich for him.
Since he was the first to finish, Lucifer went to the river to fetch water to drink. He came running back from over the ridge, yelling, “Hey! Come look!!” His dark eyes gleamed as if they had seen a god.
Sparked by his energy, they all sprang to their feet and trotted up the rocky slope. They froze when they got to the top, breathless. Among those nearby and having overheard Lucifer, Tory and the three other girls in her group also climbed up the hill, driven by curiousity, to join them.
The nine kids were awestruck by the view.
The Acheron River stretched out far before them, broad as a lake, shimmering and indigo in the morning sun. In the distance, half disguised in patches of high fog, the mountains rose like kings. They were dressed in robes of rich blue and white and edged in green. And there, cradled between their feet, was a little stretch of azure water.
They had reached the River Lethe.
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