2

ACT VI:

An Underwater Adventure

The next day, we needed some time to dig ourselves out from under our sleeping bags. The fire was burning peacefully in the campfire, so I got up and threw more rations into the water, which was left over from yesterday's soups. The buffalo herd was gone. They've probably moved on...

"Soon we won't have anything to eat."

"If we meet humans or other races, we'll ask what's edible here," Owen said, getting dressed.

"Maybe this grass is edible too?

" "It? Well, it's quite possible, if the buffalo eat it...

" Yesterday's race had exhausted the unicorns a bit.

"No wonder we galloped so long..." he sighed, patting the animal's snout. "Today we'll go slowly.

" We packed up the tent and set off. Still following the same road, which had no branches, leading eastward. The day passed very slowly, nothing, absolutely nothing happened. Moreover, we were surrounded by the same landscape, the same grass, the same sky. The utter silence seemed unbearable.

And suddenly... Suddenly, a huge lake stretched out before us. So vast that at first I thought it was a sea. But in reality, it wasn't. We quickly drove to its sandy shore, overgrown with grassy reeds. We ran to the water and greedily began drinking; I had no strength left for anything else. The unicorns drank too, wading into the water up to their knees. Once we had finished, we stretched out on the grassy shore, gazing at the incredible sky above us. I never imagined that if you didn't drink all day, you could drink up an entire pond like that at once... Our unicorns were still standing in the water, drinking greedily. We didn't want to disturb them yet, so we sat down on the ground and began to think. What were we supposed to do now?

"If we circle this entire pond, it will take us several days. I'm sure of that...

" "Have you noticed that the road leads all the way to the water? As if you could travel normally underwater..." I thought aloud.

"That's impossible. Not with our... We have Pegasi!" Owen exclaimed happily.

"Exactly," I rejoiced. "Only very tired Pegasi..." I added sadly.

Suddenly, we were terrified by our unicorns' reaction. They reared up in the water, neighing fiercely, trying to take off, but they couldn't because the water was holding their necks. Without thinking, we both rushed to help them. We had to be faster. I tried with all my might to pull the unicorn out of the water, but it was impossible...

Unfortunately, I, too, got caught in the whirlpool and plunged underwater. Owen dove after me, and then we saw the smiling, friendly faces of... Oceans. I took a shaky breath, and then water gushed into my mouth. However, I didn't suffocate because we were under their protection.

"Nothing will happen to you," we heard. "You're safe." Take the unicorns, let them come with us...

We had some trouble with the mounts; they refused to go underwater quite willingly, but then they glided quite calmly underwater on their enormous wings...

We gazed with great interest at the beautiful plants and corals growing on the bottom of the lake. There were also numerous flat rocks arranged in layers, somewhat reminiscent of cones and pyramids. Far ahead, we saw a castle. It reminded me of a large glass dome, adorned with large corals, and it looked as if the great roots of a tree encompassed the entire hemisphere. We swam in and stood on the dry, marble floor. We were wet, but happy.

"Welcome to the underwater castle of Polguz. We are delighted with your arrival."

A typical girl of this race smiled at us. And a tall young man. As she spoke, an elderly couple joined us. Apparently, they were the rulers here. We bowed to them in the typical Avin-Lion manner, and they nodded graciously.

"We welcome you!

" "We are very pleased to be with you," I said.

"Leave the unicorns here; they will be properly provided for. Our kinsmen will take care of them, and you come with us."

We strolled leisurely through the impressive halls, from whose windows we could see fish swimming by, and it was a very strange feeling. I thought that once I left this palace, I wouldn't have trouble breathing, but I wasn't very accustomed to such feats and preferred to give up. All the amazing walls were painted this beautiful blue, mostly with beautiful dolphins and underwater creatures that I'd never seen before, but were very pretty. Here and there were very soft sofas and cozy armchairs. Flowers with red and pink blooms bloomed here, and large white garlands covered the windows. Huge chandeliers with candles, adorned with seashells, hung from the ceilings. All this made a profound impression on us.

When we sat down in a small room at a round glass table supported by a blue marble dolphin, we were strangely already dry.

"How was your trip?" asked the older man.

"Okay," Owen nodded. "So far, everything's going according to plan."

"We're very happy about that," the young man said, smiling.

"Forgive us for scaring you so much," the girl said. "But we had to put you to the test. Another one, I think, this time you'll get our tattoo, which will help you sense water and also see it...

" "Great!" I exclaimed spontaneously. "And we were already so worried about the animals drinking!"

Everyone smiled solemnly.

"So we'll teach you what it means to be Oceans. We have our history too.

" "Let's go then," the older man rose, and we all went to the room, which had only one large, round pond in the center.

I wondered why they needed a pond here, but I would soon find out. We all sat on the edge and gazed into its blue surface. The water, stirred by the hands of the elderly couple, swayed and then we heard a repeated voice coming to us from what seemed to be the depths of the water.

"In ancient traditions, it is said that all races arose from aquatic beings, because during their long underwater evolution, they came to land to test their mettle. It was we who, with our power, created the races of Avinlion, aided by the magic of water, which is the magic of life. For there are no beings who do not need water; we are all united by the need for water. Water is the element of life, and we have learned to control it... Thanks to this, we have the right to decide the lives of almost all the races of the Land of the Sunsword. Our race has always lived in underwater palaces; as you traverse this lake, you will find even more palaces like these, for among us there are no higher beings; we are all equal... As the first race, we have never demanded any special rights from the rulers of this land, as we need them. Peace is enough for us; we do not want war or bloodshed. We expect you to protect our waters. We want to live in safety, so do not drag us to your cities and villages." We are a powerful race, but we do not wish to live among you... Our Magic is the magic of life, and every Magic has its place in the great Mandala of the Cosmos. All is one; no effect exists without a cause. We, too, have our place in the great history of Avinlion, the only Land still so pure and untainted that the magics of the world can meet here... This is an extraordinary place in every way, and you must respect it, for if you do not, the energies of the Universe will turn against you. This is what you should know about the Oceans, the race of watery high elves...

We exchanged glances. The image disappeared, as it had previously in the sacred Indian grove.

"Now you still need tattoos," the older woman said. "Step into the pool.

" "But..." I looked at her uncertainly, but Owen was already standing inside.

The water wasn't deep, barely reaching my ankles, but I wasn't thrilled. When I stood next to Owen, the Oceanians stood on all four corners of the world, surrounding us in this way. Then they stretched their open hands toward us, and the water enveloped us in a huge column. Stunned by the roar, I fell to my knees as Owen gazed upward, captivated by the incredible spectacle...

And suddenly everything disappeared. There was no more roar of water, no more pool. We were sitting again at that beautiful table with the marble dolphin. From the Beginning, we sat for a moment in comfortable chairs whose backs resembled seashells, and then we lifted our right sleeves to look at another tattoo. This one depicted a seashell and was slightly lower than the Native American tattoo. It was completely black, with many fine details.

"Thank you!" my brother said.

"The suns are up. Time to go.

" "We've been here all night?"

"Yes. Your Pegasi are ready to go. You can use them to cross the lake. Their feathers are wet, so you won't be able to fly.

" "Thank you again." We both rose from the table and said goodbye to the Oceans.

Our Unicorns were waiting for us in that huge cougar, which had walls of water resembling roaring waterfalls. When we mounted them, they were no longer afraid to enter the water; the Oceans must have taught them that.

We glided through the water, almost as if we were in the air. Just beneath the surface. As we looked down, passing over one of the beautiful castles, we saw the Oceans waving in friendship. We waved back. It took us a long time to reach the other side. Our journey must have taken half a day, watching the suns move across the sky...

When the Unicorns felt the sandy ground beneath their hooves, they quickened their pace, and soon we were standing completely soaked on the other side of the large lake. We quickly lit a fire and sent the unicorns out to pasture to dry off. We changed into our spare clothes, drying our wet ones by the fire.

"Show me the map," I said to Owen.

"Exactly, I wonder if we're on the right track." My brother pulled out a map and spread it out on his knee. He stared at it silently for a moment. "We left the Water Gate, crossed the Mogot Plains, were in the city of Clonasia, were in the Corpse Tree Forest among the Indians, rode the Totem Road, and now we've crossed Sea Lake, and when we follow that road, we'll cross the river and reach... the pyramids!

" "WOW!!! I never would have guessed there were pyramids here!

" "Nothing should surprise us here anymore. Don't you think?

" "Hmmm." Sure, but it still seems like such a wonderful dream...

- Oh yes, a dream that never ends...ACT VII

The Conflict of Past and Present

The next, bright day, we set off on our journey, but unfortunately, after a two-hour drive, we came across a mighty river spilling right across the road. Unfortunately, whether we wanted to or not, we had to cross it, but we had no idea how best to do it, because the Unicorns were tired, and we didn't want to tire them out even more. So we rode along the riverbank for a long time, looking for a shallower spot through which we could guide the Unicorns. But we couldn't find anything.

"Owen, that's pointless..." I sighed in resignation. We'd been searching for so long! I no longer felt like such a pointless search.

"Do you have a better idea?" He looked at me reproachfully and turned his Pegasus towards me. "I don't know what else we could come up with!

" "Maybe we should try this flight thing?"

"It's a huge river. There's no point! Sooner or later, they'll fail. I'd rather not risk it.

" "So how are we going to do it?"

Owen shrugged helplessly and looked into the dark depths of the water. We both didn't want to get between them, which is why we couldn't muster the courage to try flying.

"Marron! Remember what they told us, Ocean?" my brother suddenly yelled, so loudly that our mounts threw back their heads in alarm. "Our Magic is the magic of life, and every Magic has its place in the great Mandala of the Cosmos."!!!

"But what does that have to do with anything?" I asked, surprised.

"The magic of life. So if, if..." Owen pondered frantically. "We have these tattoos that give us power over this magic. Do you understand me, Marron?! We can control water!

" "You don't mean we're going to go into the water now!?" I gasped breathlessly.

"I don't think we'll even have to. We'll just ride across it.

" "But Owen! That's stupid.

" "Marron, you have to believe." Owen turned his horse toward the water and closed his eyes.

After a moment, a bluish aura began to envelop his body. Seeing this, I couldn't believe it was happening. My brother a magician?! Is that even possible?! The aura intensified moment by moment, until it enveloped his entire form in glowing blue rays. When Owen opened his eyes, they were blue and glowed with an incredible brilliance, and worst of all, he had no pupils at all! I watched, petrified with fear, and in that same moment, he urged his unicorn on, which ran into the water without protest, but then began to walk across it as if it were a hard road. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, but I hadn't dreamed it! My little brother was actually riding a horse through the water!!! Then I lost sight of him, as a milky fog suddenly spread across the river, making it difficult to see anything. I knew I had to follow him, so I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. Slowly, I let myself be guided by the sound of the water, which surrounded me.

"Magic of life, you are the magic of water!" I thought. "Do what you want, do what you want!"

And then I felt warmth. My heart felt so serene, as if I'd felt the warmth of a stream within. The water and its roar began to fill me, until I felt as if I could be part of that terrifying river. I slowly opened my eyes, and if I'd seen myself at that same moment, I'm sure I would have been as terrified to see my own eyes as I had been to see Owen's. Without a second thought, I spurred my horse straight toward the river and soon began trotting across the churning waves of the immense water. Suddenly, I noticed my brother standing on the other bank; his eyes were closed, and he was no longer enveloped in that beautiful blue glow. I breathed slowly and deeply. It was enough for my Unicorn to step onto dry ground, and I suddenly felt strangely weak. I wanted to sleep, just sleep, but I had to pull myself together, so I followed my brother's example and closed my eyes, concentrating on my feelings. At that moment, I felt my bond with the river fading, that we were no longer one as before, but two different Magics. I thanked the river for a safe journey and straightened in the saddle.

"And how?" my brother asked. "Amazing, isn't it?"

I only nodded, unable to utter a word. Only after a moment did I whisper: "It's so foggy here, I can't see my hand in front of my eyes! How are we going to go any further?

" "I think we'll wait until it clears up a bit," I heard my brother's voice, but I couldn't see him anymore.

"Terrifying how quickly it appeared..." I didn't finish, interrupted by the roar of a cannon and the shouts of hundreds of people. I could distinguish the shouts of soldiers and the distinct, battle cry of Indians! In that same instant, the fog dispersed, and we were standing in the middle of a field where Indians and soldiers, living in those days in the Wild West, were fighting. Our unicorns, frightened by the roar of cannons and gunfire, carried us towards the forest, where we only managed to stop them from galloping any further. Miraculously, no one was hurt.

"What...?!" I whispered. "What the hell?"

"Oh my god, where are we!? I feel like I'm in some American western." Owen looked in the direction of the battle. "What are we going to do now?"

"We can't leave this like this, Owen! They're our countrymen, we have to help them."

"But how!? Damn, I think it's pointless to even attempt something like this!"

"But remember what the Indians told us!? We have to help them so they can regain their peace! We can't leave it like this!

" "I know..." he scratched his head, jumping off the unicorn, and at that moment we heard a child's scream. It was a terrifying, fearful scream, a little boy who jumped out of the bushes and started running into the forest.

"I'll catch up with him!" I shouted to Owen, galloping after the little Indian.

I chased him for quite a while, until at one point I leaned forward in the saddle and grabbed him around the hips, quickly lifting him into the saddle. The boy screamed and struggled wildly, even biting me, which wasn't pleasant at all, but I held him tight and turned the horse around, still galloping, and returned to Owen. The little one hadn't stopped screaming and struggling for a moment the entire ride back, but when I lowered him to the ground right next to Owen, he was speechless with fear. Yes, Owen had always possessed unparalleled authority, but to this extent?! I never expected this! I jumped down beside the crying child nestled among the rocks and bushes, crouched down beside him, and began to observe him closely. Then I looked at Owen.

"We have to help him.

" "But he probably doesn't understand us..." my brother sighed.

"Perhaps our tattoo will help us this time too?" I asked uncertainly.

I closed my eyes, just as I had before, and my brother and I began to concentrate on Native American Magic. I felt power within me, but it was different. Completely different from water Magic. I felt a healing power within me, concentrated primarily in my hands. Trees with skeletons hanging from their branches rustled in my ears. An orange aura slowly enveloped our bodies, growing with each passing moment, until finally, we both opened our eyes simultaneously. They were the color of earth, and as before, there were no pupils in them. The little boy took a deep breath and pressed himself even tighter between the stones.

"Don't be afraid," I smiled at him reassuringly. "We won't hurt you."

Owen realized we could now speak the Native American language, and this surprised him greatly.

"Don't be afraid of us, we've come to help you. For the Queen of Avinlion, Mitra, has sent us. Tell us, what's your name?

" "White..." the boy whispered. "White Buffalo."

"How beautiful!" I smiled. "So tell us now what's going on there! What kind of war is this? "

The boy grew sad, looking uncertainly toward the battlefield.

"They're our enemies. Our enemies, they want to kill us. They've always wanted it! We don't stand a chance, but we must defend our sacred groves, for we have nothing but them, and it's our sacred duty, entrusted to us by the gods! Our spirits would be angry if we allowed these soldiers to desecrate them. We won't let that happen, we don't want that..."

I looked at the eleven-year-old boy and couldn't believe I was hearing those words coming from his mouth! I closed my eyes for a moment, as immense anger at all of them welled up inside me. So many victims, so many innocent victims! For what did they all die!? For whom?!..." I jumped to my feet and looked down at the boy.

"Stay here! We'll be back soon!"

My brother must have been thinking the same thing, because he followed me straight onto the battlefield, and we entered it almost as soon as both sides began to rush towards each other, ready to clash in deadly combat. We stopped in the middle of a vast clearing, feeling the earth tremble beneath us and the terrible roar of war cries shaking the air. I took a deep breath and screamed as loudly as I could.

"Stop, in the name of Mithra and Henry, I command you to stop!"

Suddenly, my voice was amplified and reverberated with a powerful echo that startled both sides. The Indians and soldiers stopped, looking at us in surprise. But soon they were attacking again. My brother frowned ominously, and in that same moment, I realized he was about to use Water Magic, for a blue glow of power enveloped him. Owen quickly knelt on the ground and touched the grass with his open hand.

"...Owen...?!" I whispered softly.

But he wasn't looking at me. He was concentrating entirely on what he wanted to do, and suddenly I felt the ground beneath me crack, water gushing out, and suddenly that same water rising in mighty walls toward the sky. It was such a stunning sight that I stepped back, staring in amazement at the incredible spectacle! And suddenly everything stopped... the silence was broken only by the mournful wailing of the Indians, as the soldiers stood calmly in military formation, watching us with malevolent smiles on their faces. I turned toward them and froze... Why were the Indians so severely wounded when the soldiers were completely unharmed? They didn't have a single scratch on their bodies! They stood as if nothing had happened... What had happened? Who could they possibly be?

I looked uncertainly at my exhausted brother and clenched my fists tightly, feeling utterly powerless at that moment. I frantically wondered if I, too, could transition from Healing Magic to Water Magic so quickly?! Was it that easy?! But my fears were unfounded. I only had to think about it, and Magic transformed within me! I closed my blue eyes and listened to my brother's rapid, shallow breathing. He was very tired.

"Why didn't anything happen to them?! Who are they?!..." I asked quietly. "Who could they be?"

As if in answer to my question, a White Buffalo ran out of the forest. I turned my head toward him sharply.

"They're not people! They don't exist!!!" he shouted, waving his arms at us. "They're just illusions! Nightmares of Indians who haven't forgotten our past lives! Destroy them! They..."

He didn't finish, as an invisible force suddenly struck him, throwing him against a nearby tree.

“Shut up, you red dog!” hissed the captain of the regiment that was attacking the Indians.

I looked at him, and in that moment I felt the power surging within me; I felt as if I was about to explode because I couldn't contain it. Anger and despair took over. I clenched my fists, wanting to scream with rage. It was too much. In a magical gesture, I closed both hands in front of me as if in prayer and concentrated all my strength on them.

"Water Magic! Water Magic!" I whispered sharply. "Water Magic!"

I still unclasped my hands, but kept them facing me. I saw a large ball of water within them. It was beautiful, but I didn't have time to look closely. So I raised my hands above my head and then, in one fluid motion, threw the ball of water in front of me. The ball hung in the air for a moment, spinning faster and faster, shifting into ever-new forms. Then, in a single instant, the ball transformed into a mighty water dragon, which roared down upon the disoriented army, engulfing them all.

As it did, the soldiers, with a desperate cry, vanished into the black mist. From the exertion that would have been mine moments earlier, I fell to my knees next to my brother, who was already recovering.

"Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

"Just a little faint..."

At that moment, all the Indians who had participated in the fight approached us. They stood for a moment, watching us, then fell to their knees before us, striking their spears against their leather shields, shouting as only they can. We listened in stunned silence, then rose to our feet, and they did the same.

"You wield the magic of water and the magic of healing." "Welcome, descendants of the great Henry!" said the chief in his impressive plume. "Would you please stay with us for a while?

" "White Buffalo..." I whispered breathlessly and completely irrelevantly, running in the direction where the boy was most likely.

I spotted him under a tree, blood flowing from his torn head, but the little one was still breathing. I knelt beside him and began calling out to him, but he didn't respond. I grew increasingly desperate, until finally I remembered that perhaps the Magic I wielded could help here now... I closed my orange, gleaming eyes and placed my hands over his chest.

"Magic..." I whispered softly. "Indian magic, healing magic! Help him, help him, I implore you!"

Lightning bolts shot from my hands, piercing his body, but the little one didn't even flinch. I held my hands over his chest for a long time, then moved them above his head, until finally I placed both hands on his forehead, where I concentrated my power for a long moment.

"You have to live! You can't die, do you hear me?" I thought fearfully, afraid he would stop breathing at any moment.

"Ugh..." I suddenly heard him waking up.

"White Buffalo!" I moaned with tears in my eyes. "White Buffalo, you're alive!"

I embraced him with joy and began to cry with joy. At that moment, I felt only incredible relief that everything had turned out well. At first, the frightened little Indian didn't know how to react to my spontaneous behavior, but then he confidently embraced me with his thin arms and smiled brightly at me. Then I lifted him onto my shoulders, as he was still very weak, and we walked out into the clearing where everyone was still standing, just as I had left them. They watched us for a long time, until I heard the cry of my tearful mother, calling for White Buffalo, running toward us. When I placed him in her arms, safe and sound, I was so happy I could have screamed with joy.

The Indian village... It was a picture of misery and despair. All their cattle and chickens had been slaughtered by the soldiers, but despite this, their wigwams stood, and that was very important, as it provided a sense of security unlike anything else. White Buffalo's mother took us straight to her wigwam and, together with her young daughter, who was about twelve or thirteen years old, served us Indian food.

It was mostly meat, but it was very good, because the spices used to prepare it were fantastic! After a wonderful dinner, during which no one spoke, we were invited outside. It was already dark, so a large bonfire was lit, and all the villagers gathered around it. There were about two or three hundred of us in all. No more.

Some were still painted with war symbols, others wore deer antlers, and still others wore wolf skins. It was a truly astonishing sight. We sat around the fire in circles that widened outward.

Then we heard cheerful singing and the pounding of drums, and young warriors began dancing over and around the fire, brandishing spears and axes. We felt wonderful, because the atmosphere was incredible. At one point, as I was amusedly watching the Indians perform, a white buffalo ran up to me and sat on my lap."Hi, little one!" I laughed cheerfully. "How are you feeling? Better, I hope..."

The little one nodded and handed me something tightly wrapped in deerskin.

"Is this for me?" I was surprised as I took the package.

"Thank you! Thank you..." he whispered in my ear and ran off. When he sat down next to his mother, who hugged him tenderly, he waved happily at me, and then, along with the other children from the village, he began playing.

"Look what he gave you!" Owen urged me. When I opened the small package, I saw a carefully crafted wooden totem pole.

Painted, too! On top, with spread wings, stood an eagle, beneath it a deer with beautiful antlers, beneath it again a wolf, and even lower still a huge bear. I really liked this totem pole and decided to take special care of it, so that every time I looked at it, I would be reminded of the people who had treated us so kindly.

Only when the three suns began to rise in the sky did everyone calm down, and the entire village fell into complete silence, as if the Indians were waiting for something, and we were right in our suspicion. Owen and I watched as sparks suddenly began to fly from a large, blazing bonfire, and then colorful flames in all the colors of the rainbow began to rise higher and higher.

Suddenly, I saw human figures in the flames! I held my breath and strained my eyes to see who it could be... However, I could only make out the outlines of figures: three very tall and broad-shouldered, and one shorter and decidedly more delicate. Of course, I immediately thought of our mysterious companions who had graciously shown us the way to the Indian village when we were just getting to know them, but I didn't yet know who they really were...

It wasn't until one of the many very old Shamans gathered around the fire threw something directly into the flames that I saw the vision shared by everyone gathered there. At first, the figures blurred in the fire, followed by a huge Bear, silhouetted sharply against the flames. He stood on his hind legs, roaring menacingly, while waving his forepaws. Immediately after him appeared a Salmon, which seemed to swim in the fire's flames.

When it disappeared, a beautiful Deer appeared, seemingly traversing a vast forest of burning trees in a majestic run. Then we saw a Hawk in flight, and it was perhaps the most incredible sight I'd ever seen; I'd rarely seen anything so stunning! Unfortunately, this vision lasted only a blink of an eye... Then the fire diminished considerably, and all the Indians began to talk again, though not so loudly.

"Owen, are you thinking the same thing I am?" I asked him, looking into the fire.

"These figures who led us to the sacred grove are the highest spirits of the Indians!" he said, surprised by his discovery. "So we have had the honor of meeting them after all!

" "Exactly," I laughed happily. "How kind of them!"

White Buffalo was already asleep in his mother's arms when we slowly began to disperse to our lodges. We, too, were given a lodge of our own in which to sleep...

The forest rustled around us, a small stream, and all this was further emphasized by the silence of many, many years spent in solitude by the Indians beset by modernity... to be