Calan withdrew his smelly exhaustion from atop his sister’s limp silence, and stood over her while securing his clothes. Being released, Velwyth violently fought to cover herself up. Catching a glimpse of him, smiling wickedly down at her, sent Velwyth’s skin into a crawl, making her brother’s eyes shine even more.
It was in that moment that Calan began to notice Velwyth’s tearing pout boiling as her eyes glared back with a fierce vengeance of their own. There was something frightful in them. An expression of defiance he did not see coming. Yet, her maliciousness quickly faded into submission under his unrelenting stare baring down on her. In her secret thoughts Velwyth began to plot his demise. But for now she was overwhelmed with shame, thinking of what he had just done, causing her to recoil deeper into her sheltered thoughts.
His sister hid her face and began weeping uncontrollably. Velwyth had always believed her home had been a refuge, but now even the dignity of her own mind had been defiled beyond repair. She thought her only salvation was pay back, but how? Half wrapped in the moistened gown, she gathered herself and huddled in the corner on the patio. He had crushed her spirit, and she knew for certain that no one would ever come to her aid...
Further inland, deeper within the city, was the Great Hall of the Stewards. It was a huge stone building, fashioned in the form of two great hands, made by the dwarves of old, to commemorate some forgotten event. Its roof was carved to resemble interlocking fingers. The space between the forefingers and thumbs were a lacing of stone-cut vines, painted green; through which dissipating wisps of scented smoke arose. Its mixture of lavender and sage incense lingered in the wind for miles. The Great Hall's double doors stood beneath those massive thumbs, with ivory unicorn horns for spiral handles.
THE WATCHER REQUIEM
Drifting away from his reassuringly soft pillow, Jacob found himself fighting the fatigue of the day. Dressed in a powder-blue tuxedo, he saw himself floating against the backdrop of a yellowish parchment-colored sky. Just as a wisp of purplish, creamy black clouds began to populate the scene, Jacob felt himself slowing down to a soft landing. He was standing on a huge moss covered stone, that barely broke the surface of a calm ocean by three feet.
The air was heavy with the taste of salt and the stench of rotting fish. As his eyes searched the horizon, the skies turned a royal sapphire, eerily giving everything a hazed-bluish tint. Then, out of that clouding-blue sky, a beautiful woman appeared. She was dark skinned, in her mid-thirties, with waist-length bright red hair. The woman wore a layering of wrap-around cloth, like that of a sari from India. Though her head was covered, Jacob could still see her unveiled face, and the detail of a small mole on her neck, just beneath her chin.
After she landed on the rock where he stood, they both faced one another and she began telling him about things that made no sense. She spoke passionately of a twisted-tree on a distant hill, pointed out a flock of white cranes flying overhead, and observed the brewing of a massive storm cloud in the east.
Suddenly the heavens boiled with rolling thunder and brilliant displays of lightning as that very storm approached. The bolts scampered on the water’s surface all around them as Jacob crossed his arms and seemed indifferent to their threats. He felt detached, like an unconcerned observer only. Yet, the woman flew into a state of sheer panic as the violent winds shoved her over the edge of the great rock. She struggled to regain her footing on top as Jacob simply watched her slide deeper into the crashing waves that lapped over the massive stone. Like a movie whose outcome was predetermined; he did nothing. It was her fate to die.
Moments later all he saw of the woman was a fear-stricken face, haloed in a fan of bright red hair, mingled with a curtain of silent bubbles. She slowly sank beneath the surface of the calming waters, leaving Jacob once again standing all alone. The stench of dead fish filled the air as a strange feeling began to gnaw into Jacob’s waking thoughts; that something very serendipitous was yet to come. Then he looked out onto the horizon and saw an enormous square ship with no sails.
